Herido Addams and the Philosopher's Stone
by TaleCaster
Summary: Part 2 of my Herido Addams story. After being adopted and raised by the darkest family known to wizardkind, Heri is finally ready to attend Hogwarts. Dark!Harry
1. Chapter 1

Albus Dumbledore was enjoying a quiet morning going through some reading that needed his attention for his duties in the Wizengamot. It was only a few days into the summer holidays and this time was always so nice and relaxing. In a few weeks he would grow bored and notice how the castle seemed to feel oddly empty, and a few weeks after that would be taken up with teachers hastily trying to get everything ready for the new term.

Yes, this was definitely his favourite part of summer, which is why he was surprised when Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape came bursting into his office, seemingly in the middle of an argument.

"Minerva, Severus, is there something I can help you with?" Both of his teachers looked up, as though only now realising they'd made it to his office already. Minerva pulled herself up straight.

"An Addams, Albus? In our school? What on Earth are you thinking?" She asked, looking at him like she thought he'd gone mad. It was a look he was used to seeing, but not from someone who knew him so well. He didn't have a chance to ask her what she meant before Snape spoke up.

"While I believe it would be an honour" he gave the witch a hard look, "to host and help educate an Addams child, I do have to agree that Hogwarts is not the most suited place for them, nor are we prepared to adequately… deal with one here." Albus just looked at the two for a moment? An Addams child?

"I'm afraid, my friends, I don't quite follow? An Addams you say?" Minerva took a piece of parchment from Snape's hands and slammed it down on the desk.

Albus took it and had to reread it three times before he could accept what it was telling him. The parchment was just the regular enrolment list for the incoming first years. He tried to ignore the blotted out name of 'Harry Potter' and instead zeroed in on one a few rows down: _Herido Addams._

Feck.

Dumbledore needed time to think about this. He looked up at Snape over his half-moon spectacles.

"And how did you come to be in possession of this list, Severus?" He asked, wanting to create a brief distraction. Too late he realised that it would be a distraction he didn't want to think about.

"How do you think, Albus?" Minerva snapped, obviously wanting to get back to the matter at hand. "He hasn't given up hope over the poor Potter boy…" her voice faded a little. The whole wizard world had felt the loss of Harry Potter, but she felt almost responsible. She hadn't wanted to leave him with the muggles after all.

"The circumstances around his disappearance…" Severus started.

"His death." Minerva interrupted with a little less conviction than she'd hoped.

"His death," Severus corrected, although it was obvious he didn't believe it. Minerva thought it was just wishful thinking on his part. Poor Severus. "The circumstances around his death are suspicious at best! I was just checking the list." Severus stopped himself. He knew the others wouldn't understand. He just couldn't accept that he'd failed Lilly so completely. It would destroy him.

"Severus," Albus sighed and suddenly felt ever year his age, "We searched for a year. Arabella reported that the boy had come down with a powerful flu a month before he died, and his aunt was quite clear that the boy had passed away." Snape scoffed to that.

"And you trust that women? The woman who had the child cremated and scattered before the wards fell? And why did it take so long for the wards to fall anyway? And where is her husband? I know there isn't even a whisper of the child in the dark circles, but there must be something we're missing. It simply doesn't add up!" He said. It was an old argument that they'd had many times over the years.

"Vernon Dursley left his family after the child's death. It's unfortunate, but it happens. The wards must have been too powerful and…" he trailed off. He couldn't explain why the wards and tracking charms had lasted three days beyond the child's death. It was something that had haunted him for years, but after finding no trace of the child and hearing nothing of him being kidnapped, he had to assume that it was simply one of those things he might never understand. He was currently investigating whether the curse scar might have confused the wards, or if they had temporarily transferred to Dudley somehow… He stopped himself at the sound of Minerva clearing her throat.

"Well, whatever the case may be, it was because of his diligence that Severus noticed the Addams on the list. What are we to do, Albus? Surely we can't take him?" She was disturbed at the idea. Like most people, she only knew of rumours concerning the Addams family, but if only a fraction of those rumours were true, they would be in trouble.

"And would you like to go to America and explain to his parents the reason you refuse to teach their son?" Snape scoffed. He knew that he most certainly would not.

"I'm afraid we have no choice." Albus said as he rubbed his temples. "Perhaps, Minerva, you could contact Ilvermorny to make sure this isn't just some mistake. But if the Addams' have indeed decided to send their son to our school, we must accept him. To do otherwise would surely escalate into an international incident with the Ministry and perhaps even retaliation from the family themselves! In my many years I have only seen tragedy befall those who insult the Addams family. That's the last thing we'll need in the upcoming years." Severus knew that he spoke of Voldemort, as they both knew he wasn't gone for good and would be back sooner or later. When that happened they really couldn't afford to be wasting time and effort fighting such a powerful and respected family, whether physically or politically.

"Well then! I suppose I will just have to hope that Ilvermorny will take him!" Minerva wrapped her cloak around herself in a laudably dignified manner as she left the office.

Both Severus and Albus remained quiet after she left. They were both considering the _why. Why_ would the Addams children be attending public school and _why_ Hogwarts? They could only hope that their imagination was worse than the truth.

Albus reassured himself that it would be fine. This Herido was just a child after all, and even if his parents could cause Albus a world of trouble, the child was an innocent. Well, he tried to reassure himself, but it wasn't quite working.

* * *

When a haggard looking barn owl arrived during breakfast, it had been ignored. The Addams family had at first assumed it was another letter from Ilvermorny.

Not long ago, Gomez and Morticia had been invited to Ilvermorny and had sat through a 45 minute monologue from the headmistress as to why it might be beneficial for the other Addams children to attend schools outside of America. She had nearly fainted from relief when Gomez had said that she had a point – and that besides, Herido wouldn't object to being sent to England and Wednesday had her heart set on Japan. Gomez and Morticia were simply glad to know that there were teachers that still cared; that could look beyond the benefits of having Herido and Wednesday attend their school and focus instead on what was best for the children!

The headmistress simply couldn't believe it had worked. She didn't imagine she would survive having two more of those devil children in her school.

Ever since that meeting, the parents had been receiving letters from the headmistress making sure that Herido was still going elsewhere and that no offence was taken and that she hadn't been misunderstood and… the letters seemed endless.

However the owl had persisted even after being shooed away and dropped its letter in front of Herido, not Gomez.

He flipped the envelope over and exclaimed "oh, it's my Hogwarts letter." And he set it aside to finish his breakfast. It didn't even occur to him that he might not have been accepted. All of the Addams children had been enrolled in every wizarding school in the world after their birth – or in Herido's case, after his adoption, and they had simply cancelled the enrolments at the other schools once it had been decided which one they were to attend It was tradition after all, to make sure the Addams' had every opportunity available to them, but this was the first time that the head of the family had enrolled his children in schools and none of the family could imagine any school being anything but thrilled to be taking an Addams child.

It had of course been a letter of acceptance. Although there had been a mad rush once Herido realised that Wednesday had gotten to the letter beforehand and sent a refusal with the fasted owl they owned. Thankfully she hadn't been able to recruit Pugsley's falcon which had managed to kill the other bird and retrieve the letter before it had left the state.

Heri couldn't hide his excitement. He would have preferred to attend Ilvermorny with Pugsley, but he was glad to have the opportunity to walk the same halls as so many witches and wizards from his past.

* * *

Everyone seemed to freeze in order to observe the strange family as they stepped into Diagon Alley. Those in the know couldn't believe their eyes.

As the family stopped to take in the alley, they made an almost regal tableau. At the centre stood a women who looked far too pale to be healthy, but had sharp features and held herself in a way that quickly reassured that she was from nobility. On her arm was a man who seemed almost European in his complexion and looked as though everything his eyes fell upon was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen. Beside him stood a bald man, bouncing on his heels, who didn't look like he was supposed to be out in public without a handler. To the women's left was a an old woman that any muggle the world over would surely describe as a 'witch', and that the patrons of Diagon Alley would describe as either a Crone or a Hag, depending on their own leaning. In front of the adults stood three children, looking oddly pale and completely bored.

The expressions on the children's' faces were simply a mask. They were all quite looking forward to seeing what the English wizarding community looked like. Their initial impressions left much to be desired. The whole alley was filled with magical folk in brightly coloured robes and even the shops looked to be welcoming. Heri could only hope it was some strange English trend – like the ones they had in American wizarding communities – and that it would pass before he was expected to jump on the bandwagon. Not that he would.

At first they all ignored the stares, but by the time they were half way up the alley, Grandmamma cast a powerful notice-me-not spell and whole family bemoaned that the Addams charm was irresistible on any continent.

The first stop was Gringotts Bank to gather some British currency. Gomez could never remember which banks held parts of the Addams fortune, but surely they had money in England!

Once they'd entered the bank, the whole family moved to the most senior looking Goblin available. They did not wait until he acknowledged them; instead Gomez greeted the Goblin in perfect Gobbledegook, an action that earned the attention of said Goblin. Something about the man told the Goblin to listen and so he heeded the family's request and immediately arranged a meeting with the Head of the bank.

The Head Goblin seemed a little rude to Herido. That was until Gomez mentioned his friendship with Jareth, the Goblin King, and suddenly the Head Goblin treated the Addams' as though they were royalty themselves. An infinitesimal number of wizards even knew the goblins even had a king, so the fact that these wizards knew him personally spoke volumes. Heri understood the Goblin's fear. He had only met the Goblin King twice, but he was an exceptionally powerful being and even though he didn't like to directly interfere with affairs in the Aboveground, he was definitely a man that you didn't want to embarrass, and Heri could only imagine that his punishments were agonisingly beautiful.

It was to nobody's surprise when it turned out that the Addams had a huge fortune waiting for them in the London Branch of Gringotts.

Heri was however surprised to learn that he still had access to the fortune and rights belonging to House Potter. The Head Goblin patiently explained that although the Law recognised Harry Potter as dead, the system that Gringotts used to identify heirs recognised Herido Addams as a son of both the Addams and Potter legacy and that if he wished to Heri could assume the title of Lord Potter come his adulthood.

It was definitely something for Heri to consider. Pugsley would inherit the mantle of Head of House Addams, and Wednesday would eventually take up another name. Perhaps Herido could use his own progeny to continue the Potter line. Either way it was something to be dealt with at a much later date. For now, they simply withdrew funds from the Addams account. The Head Goblin insisted that the money they had taken was enough to equip a child for school eighteen times over, so Gomez had given the Goblin almost a quarter of it as a thank you and promised to send a first born or two to Jareth by the end of the day.

When they finally exited the bank, Heri read though his shopping list. It seemed odd that he owned almost nothing on the list. His mother was right when she said that most Wizards practiced a completely different type of magic. The only thing that Heri was even a little interested in purchasing was his wand. All the Addams adults knew how to use wand magic – after all, you never knew when any type of magic might come in handy. It was foolish to deny any power, just because it wasn't the one you were used to.

As they walked down the steps of the bank, Grandmamma noticed another Alley that looked much more promising and set off to investigate, taking the whole family with her and leaving Herido to navigate the obviously 'light' alley with just Lurch to guard him and carry his purchases. He grumbled a little about his family having fun without him. Grandmamma had at least promised to purchase his potions supplies, so that was one thing he didn't have to worry about. And besides, without the rest of his family around, Herido was able to move without most of the usual attention and scrutiny. This turned out to be a true blessing as word seemed to have spread quickly that the Addams family was here, and the crowds had increased, everyone looking around either nervously or with intrigue and excitement.

He'd spelled his fringe to remain in place over his scar. He did not want anyone knowing of his past. If he was sure of anything else in this life, he was sure of that. Harry Potter was indeed an important part of his past, but he knew that, that was all anyone else in this country would see if they knew the truth and he would prefer the past to stay in the past.

And so he set off to acquire his school supplies with the money his father had left him with.

He purchased the items on his list in the order they presented themselves as he strolled down the Alley, knowing that Lurch was more than capable of carrying the lot.

When he entered the book store Flourish and Blotts he ran into, or was run into, by a girl carrying a stack of books taller than her head. As the books fell to the floor in an unseemly mess, he was about to ignore the girl and simply step over the books until his habitual perusal of her power caught his attention and he paused to look at her. She was an inelegant creature, with large bushy hair and large front teeth and a magical core that was so conflicted that he took pity on her. This girl was lost at sea without a compass or a map.

Heri bent down to help the girl retrieve her books, taking notice of every title he gathered. She had the same school books that were on his list, so she was a first year, but she also had a considerable amount of background reading – a muggle-born then.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't see you walking there. Oh, no, you don't have to help me, it was my fault really. I just didn't want to forget any of the books I'd found and was trying to carry them all to the counter at once. I can't believe how much there is to learn about this world – my world, I suppose. Were you born into a muggle family? I'm the first witch in my family and it was such a surprise, although my parents are thrilled with the news, of course. It certainly explains a lot." Heri wondered whether it was still rude to interrupt someone if they never stopped for air. Surely it was acceptable to interrupt in order to save a life? "I can't wait to try some of the spells mentioned in these books. Spells! Can you imagine? I'm Hermione Granger, by the way. Thank you for helping me." It took a few seconds for Herido to be sure she had finished talking and to realise that they had made their way to the counter already.

"That's quite alright." He started, not entirely sure where to begin. "I'm from a wizarding family, but I only know how it feels to discover the wonders of magic."

"How can that be?" She questioned. "Surely you have been surrounded by magic your whole life."

"It's a long story." One that Herido did not want to tell, so he moved on quickly. "I imagine you can't wait to learn all you can?" He asked, gesturing to her pile of books.

"Of course. I imagine I'll be woefully behind the other student at Hogwarts, so it's only natural that I should learn as much as I can to catch up. And I'm known to be, well, I suppose you could say I'm a bit of a bookworm." As she admitted this she raised her chin, as though bolstering herself for an oncoming attack. Heri just smiled at her.

"That's a fine attitude to have, but you know these books only tell a fraction of what you need to know." Hermione's eyes narrowed immediately, so he continued, "I mean, you've heard the expression 'history is written by the victor'? Well books found in stores like this one are written by authors approved by the government of the day, and governments can change overnight." The suspicious look was replaced by one of intrigue. He didn't really know what he was doing, but he knew he had to do something. This girl had a magical core that was crying out to the dark, and she would be completely wasted if her whole education was nothing but the Hogwarts curriculum.

"The professor that came to tell me that I'm a witch mentioned that there was magic that was outlawed, but she said it was dark and dangerous." The way she spoke told Heri that she was challenging him to prove the professor wrong, that she just wanted to be told it was ok to study this knowledge that had been denied her.

"Well of course it is!" He replied and she looked initially defeated, until he continued. "What else would you expect a government to call magic it disagreed with?" He could see that she was still struggling to accept his words over those of the professor's. "Well anyhow," he tried for nonchalant, "I hope you enjoy the information in these books. I'm Herido Addams," he summoned a small piece of parchment and a quill from behind the counter, and took note of the interest burning in her eyes. He knew that after her reading, she would be desperate to question him over this rare use of magic. He quickly wrote out his address and cell number – information very rarely given out, "if you have any questions or you decide you would like any information not published in these books, or if you want to see what magic looks like in everyday wizard life, give me a call. I can guarantee that my family would be more than happy to have you stay over for a while, and America is much easier to get to if you use Wizard methods of travel." He looked up to see what were surely her parents approaching, likely to pay for her books. "Well, it was nice meeting you and if I don't hear from you beforehand, I'll see you at Hogwarts." He finished as they reached the counter.

"Oh, thank you!" Hermione countered. "I'm so pleased to meet you! Thank you, Herido!" He wondered if she realised she'd thanked him twice. If they were to be friends at school, he would have to get rid of that particular trait.

* * *

He left his wand for last, knowing it would keep him motivated to keep going through all the cheery crowds and obnoxiously light shops.

Herido once again asked Lurch to wait outside and entered Ollivander's with a sense of anticipation. The whole shop was filled with the strangest mix of magic. An old grey haired man with glassy eyes appeared out of nowhere, but Herido just gave him a hard look. It was a foolish or brave man that tried to sneak up on an Addams.

Ollivander looked a little taken aback.

"Here for a wand, I presume? Please forgive me, for a moment I thought you were… but no. What's your name, young man?" He didn't give one. This Mr Ollivander made him a little nervous. He couldn't possibly know of his old identity could he? The man was staring, unblinking at him. He let his magic flair for a moment, knowing that if this man had the magical sight, he would be unable to look upon the Addams' magic as it was too dark and powerful for the average wizard, even if he himself couldn't wield it all yet. Magical sight was rare, and he attributed his own ability to his Horcrux.

Ollivander did look away and eventually began asking him questions to do with his wand.

It took an awfully long time to find a wand that would accept him. Mr Ollivander was looking more pleased the longer it took, but Heri was starting to worry he wouldn't be able to get a wand at all. He wondered whether it was possible to have one custom made.

Eventually, Ollivander handed over a wand with obvious trepidation.

As soon as this wand was clasped in his palm, Herido knew it was his. It felt warm and pleasantly draining and when he drew his arm down it let out the most breath-taking array of black and silver sparks.

He actually heard Mr Ollivander gulp.

"What is it?" Heri asked.

"It's just very curious." The aged man replied, almost like he was muttering to himself. "Your wand is made from Holly, Eleven inches and… and its core is the tail feather of a phoenix. The phoenix who gave this feather, gave another – just one other. It's … curious that you should end up with this wand, when it brother… gave you your scar!" Heri immediately zeroed in on the old man and was gratified to see him pale dramatically. How could he have known? Would everyone be able to tell?

Ollivander felt as though the air around him had condensed. He could no longer feel his wands, all he could feel was the magic from the little boy before him, pressing against his body like a vice and so dark that he suddenly had a suspicion of where this boy had ended up. He spoke quickly. If he was right, then even if he was the only wand maker in England, his life would be forfeit in order to keep this secret. He might have been able to defeat the child, but in the end it would be suicide; that particular family looked after their own.

"I assure you I have no interest in your identity, beyond providing you with a wand." Heri's eye's narrowed. "Nor would I ever reveal a customer's identity. Although I must tell you that your new wand is registered with the Ministry of Magic and they will be able to monitor its use until you are seventeen…"

The man was rambling and Herido didn't have the patience for it.

He released the man and placed his seven galleons on the counter before thanking him and walking away. He'd tell his parents what had happened and let them decide whether it was a threat to him. At the moment he just wanted to get home so he could examine his new wand. A brother wand to Lord Voldemort! Suddenly, he couldn't wait to learn all about this new type of magic!


	2. Chapter 2

It had taken Hermione less than a week to decide to write to Herido. Of course, the long distance made letter writing a little impractical and after her first letter he had given his email address and they now spoke many times a day.

Hermione was like a black hole, taking all the information in that she could and constantly hungering for more. Trying to satisfy her curiosity was tiring Heri out. He couldn't help but admire her tenacity.

At first he had started fairly light, simply explaining that there was no true difference between what the British Ministry had labelled dark and light magic. She had thrown at him every argument she could think of to the contrary, arguments he knew came straight out of books. He strictly stayed on the topic of wand magic. This girl was still young and impressionable, and if she turned out the way he hoped, he could teach her more in the years to come, but he doubted she would be comfortable discussing sacrificial magic any time soon. The Addams magic was to stay strictly in the family, but there were basic blood magics he could teach her, as well as the supposedly dark wand magic that his mother was teaching him. Before he could do that though, he had to make sure she was ready, and after only a few weeks of correspondence, he knew she wasn't. She had unfortunately been raised with muggle fairy tales and still believed in the ridiculous notion of good and evil.

He invited her to stay with him for a weekend. He hoped that a little exposure to the Addams house, which was heavily saturated with 'dark' magic, would sooth her core and make her a little more open to the ideas he was expounding.

This is how it came about that Gomez, Morticia and Herido stood before a nondescript detached house on a plain street in England. Morticia shuddered.

"Are you sure this is the place, darling?" She asked her son. She wondered if she had failed him somehow. She hadn't noticed any change in his behaviour recently, but if he was associating with people of this sort, he needed help.

"It is. Don't forget, Hermione is new to our world mother." He reassured her and she took a deep breath.

"Yes, of course. Poor child. We must be understanding." She nodded to herself and took her husband's arm. "Shall we?"

Gomez looked as though he wanted to object, but led his family to the door and tried to school his features as they waited to meet the occupants. He loved his children dearly, but sometimes their interests and side projects worried him. Why couldn't his son stay home, safe in the graveyard, enjoying a warm cup of henbane and preparing his victims for the upcoming ritual for the new school year like any normal child? The sacrifices he made for his children! He was nothing if not a supportive father.

* * *

Roy and Helen Granger were preparing to meet the parents of their daughter's new friend. Hermione had been excited all week about the visit, but they were concerned.

Their daughter hadn't been herself lately. It was as though her world had shifted and although she still gave them bright smiles, they could see that she was struggling with something. They wanted to chalk it all up to this new world of magic they'd been exposed to, but they couldn't help notice the change had occurred after she'd formed a friendship with a young wizard called Herido. They would be deeply uncomfortable allowing Hermione to stay with someone they'd never met, but add that to the fact they were taking her away to America, where she'd be in a world that she knew so little about, with no one there to help her if she needed it, and even now, minutes before the meeting, they were unsure they would be able to let her go. They couldn't deny that she was determined to go though, and could see that this could be a marvellous opportunity and experience for their young child. After all, she'd never been to America before and a little exposure to her new world could only be beneficial.

Oh, why couldn't their daughter stay home, safe in her room, with a mug of hot chocolate, studying for the new school year like any normal child? They shared a brief look and took a determined breath as the doorbell rang. This world was as new to Hermione as it was to them and they would be supportive parents.

* * *

All the parents stood staring at each other for a full 4 seconds before Helen invited the other family inside. She watched as the woman seemed to glide into her home. She was obviously terribly depressed and they only hoped she wasn't influencing Hermione. Was that the reason for the recent change of behaviour? Thankfully the father seemed much more normal. He greeted them with a bright smile and enthusiastic handshakes and was dressed in a very smart suit. The boy also seemed acceptable. He was charming and polite and although Hermione hadn't mentioned it, they obviously had money. That didn't really matter, of course, but it was nice to know their daughter would be taken care of.

Herido greeted Hermione warmly and tried not to laugh as she stammered and chatted through the introductions. She must have been dreadfully uncomfortable.

Hermione, herself was a little taken aback when she saw Mrs Addams. From the things he'd mentioned in his emails, she knew his family was a tad eccentric, but Herido hadn't mentioned anything about his mother being a Goth. She only hoped it didn't affect her parents allowing her to go. They were usually very accepting of people and their lifestyle choices, but she could tell that they were still on the fence about letting her go at all and thought something silly like this might make them change their minds.

They all settled down in the living room and fell into pleasant enough small talk. When Mrs Granger offered tea with milk and sugar, the Addams' shared a look, but were too polite to say anything.

Soon enough things got more comfortable and Morticia and Gomez were subjected to a relentless interrogation. Where exactly would Hermione be staying? Who else would be there? Was it a safe neighbourhood? Were they near a hospital and what were the police like in America? Would their daughter be able to contact them any time she wanted to? Was their house safe for someone who wasn't used to magic around the home? The questions seemed endless and Mrs Granger seemed a little demented in her intensity. Morticia was glad to see that she had misjudged the woman. She reminded herself that you can't condemn a person based on their light and airy home. This was probably all the poor dears could afford.

The Grangers were relieved to hear that the Addams' had excellent phone coverage and the best broadband available, and that additionally, should there be a power-cut or the like, they had many magical methods of communication that Hermione could use if she so wished. They did have quite a full house, but they were assured that most of the people staying there were family and that the rest where people who had been in their employ for many years and were all very well mannered. There wasn't a hospital in the neighbourhood, but Gomez assured them that wizards could travel great distances in no time at all and that their Grandmamma was a doctor, so their daughter would be in safe hands. They were also glad to hear that the family was on a first name basis with the local police. They could only assume it was a very safe and friendly neighbourhood.

Morticia was glad to see her vague answer regarding the girl's safety around magic had gone unnoticed. 'Safe' was such a relative term after all.

In the end the Grangers were happy with their daughter's safety. They found the Addams' a bit odd, but all the wizards they had met so far were a bit odd.

Heri thought the meeting had gone swimmingly.

* * *

As soon as Hermione felt solid ground beneath her feet once more, she wretched and was violently sick. She couldn't even think of how embarrassing it was, all she could think was that she had never felt this poorly her whole life. She felt like she was dying.

After she'd stopped heaving, she felt a hand on her back and looked up to see Heri standing there with a slightly lopsided smile. He was laughing at her! She scowled and straightened up.

"You could have warned me!" She stated, deciding that she shouldn't be embarrassed. She'd never done this before. His smile just grew.

"I could have." He replied in a sly tone that made her smack him hard on the arm. Then he did laugh and Hermione couldn't help but join in. This new world was crazy and sometimes all you can do is laugh.

Her laughter died a bit when she looked around. Before them stood what Heri informed her was his home, but he'd mentioned in his emails that magic had made his home basically indestructible and the mansion in front of her looked worryingly fragile. She shook it off and cleared her head. Since she'd received her Hogwarts letter it had been one strange and impossible thing after another and she had decided to just accept what her eyes told her was real. For now. She would find out how everything worked eventually, but knew she was just going to have to get used to a lot of things she didn't understand before school started.

They got Hermione settled into a guest room and then set off for a tour of the house. It occurred to her that Mrs Addams must have decorated, and even though Heri said they had servants, she assumed they were too few in number or simply incompetent. The Addams' must have been short on money nowadays…

The house was fascinating though. There were so many odd and often gruesome artefacts and decorations, each of which had its own story – each of which seemed less likely than the last, but each of which Hermione was inclined to believe.

She started when a terrible scream rang throughout the house.

"It's ok. That's just the doorbell." Herido reassured, but she was beginning to think that Mrs Addams needed help; she was far too dedicated. She tried to laugh it off.

"That's an interesting sound effect. Who is it?" She joked. He looked thoughtful for a moment.

"You know, I'm not sure. Uncle Fester connects it to someone different ever so often." He sounded sincere, but he just couldn't be.

"You're joking, of course." She said, hoping he would confirm it. However he wasn't the one who replied.

"We never joke." Came the cold female voice from behind her. She spun round, only to be greeted with the sharp end of a dagger an inch from her face and aimed between her eyes. It took a second to realise Herido's arms were around her shoulders and he was holding the blade between his palms… Had he just CAUGHT that? Hermione was sure her heart was beating faster than it was meant to. She'd only been here an hour or so and this was the second time she felt like she was going to die. Perhaps she nearly had. Perhaps coming here was a mistake after all. She had been prepared for eccentricity, what with Heri's stories and sadistic sense of humour, but this was plain madness.

"Hermione let me introduce you to my darling sister, Wednesday. She isn't usually this rude." He said as he lowered his arms and stepped beside her.

"I was only playing." Wednesday could see that he was chastising her for trying to steal someone else's kill.

"Playing?" Hermione came back to her senses and glared at the girl. "Are you insane? You can't go around throwing knives at people! You could have killed me!"

"If I was trying to kill you, you'd be dead." Wednesday thought she was being reassuring, but the new girl just intensified her glare. "I like her." She declared and proceeded to introduce herself in the more conventional way.

After that, Wednesday joined them on the tour and fell into the conversation easily enough, though Hermione kept a constant eye on her and used an altogether harsher tone than she used with Heri.

Halfway down one hallway, they came across a door that was at least half the normal size. Hermione couldn't decide whether she even wanted to know anymore and instead asked the question that had bothered her since she'd arrived.

"Heri, you said that the house is practically indestructible?" At his quiet 'hmm' she continued. "Well, it's just that it doesn't seem at all sturdy to me." They stopped walking.

"Really?" He sounded confused. She could only watch in horror as he pulled a stick of dynamite from an inside pocket, lit it with just his finger and thumb and then casually tossed it behind him. The whole house shook and Hermione brought up her arms to protect her head from the flying debris. Was this near-death number three?

As the dust cleared, she barely looked at the remains of the side cabinet and priceless antique trinkets that were scattered about. Her attention was on the walls – walls that looked exactly as they did a moment before. There weren't even any scorch marks.

"It seems fine to me." Herido decided. She just nodded. She needed to lie down for a while.

* * *

That night as Hermione lay in bed, listening to the man called Uncle Fester howl at the moon, she felt conflicted.

On the one hand she was staying with people who were quite clearly insane and wasn't sure her heart could take much more of it. On the other hand the casual magic all around this place was incredible. She'd found nothing like it in any of her books. And the family was very friendly, if you could ignore the unusual behaviour. At some point she'd given up trying to lecture Herido's sister. As infuriating as it was, her words seemed to have no effect on the girl at all. She had been left alone with her to explore the… well, the outside, and after a short time decided she really liked the strange child. She was surprisingly intelligent and just as knowledgeable as her brother. She also had his wicked sense of humour that Hermione couldn't help but appreciate.

The house itself felt comforting in a way that defied logic and a brief perusal of the library had silenced any further doubts she had about staying here, at least for the time being.

In the end, she had insisted that she was happy, safe and excited to be here all five times her parents had called that day.

She felt conflicted about having lied to them about being safe.

* * *

The rest of the weekend was enjoyed by all four children. Hermione had quickly gotten used to the odd family and they had reluctantly accepted her presence. Wednesday appreciated the fight the girl had – she always spoke her mind when she thought someone was wrong and argued her point valiantly. They knew of very few people who were willing to do such a thing and appreciated such a strong will, even if it was a little misguided. This was something Pugsley liked to invoke for his own amusement. He'd trigger the girl with some outrageous statement and then watch his sister become more and more annoyed as she went on and on. Unfortunately for him, she'd realised what he was doing pretty early on and started to take her frustration out on him.

Hermione was absolutely no fun to play with though. Heri spent a great deal of time thwarting Wednesday's attacks and the girl hadn't even noticed!

Herido was actually starting to like his new classmate, and they had extended her visit for two more days. If she wasn't so fragile he'd have invited her to stay for even longer. Maybe next year. He knew his little project would be a success, as she had already started reading some of the dark arts books in the library and was asking fewer and fewer questions. She hadn't even objected when he told her that he'd have to ask his father to disguise the books if she wanted to borrow them, so she wouldn't get arrested if anyone else saw them back in England. Her progress was far exceeding his expectations. He was glad that she could only access the more theoretical books that would only be considered a little dark. Any truly dark book would reject and attack the girl if she tried to read them.

The only thing he continued to struggle with was her morality. He was trying to show her that like all things, magic, supposed morality and dark intent needed balance and temperance. He was so caught up in his project that he decided to pull out the big guns. He was an Addams after all and an Addams did as they pleased, even if other people would think it reckless.

As they sat on Hermione's bed they rehashed the same old argument.

"It isn't that I don't want to learn. I find the idea that there is knowledge we're not supposed to have access to sacrilege. I just don't think it right to use some of it. It's not right that I should have to hurt someone and have other people suffer for my sake!" She was absolutely sure about this.

"You're forgetting the balance." She rolled her eyes, but he continued. "When we were talking about the way people treated you at school, you laughed at the solutions we'd come up with to deal with similar situations. I'm not saying you should go around torturing everyone you come across, but you would have had the intention to hurt those boys who threw your book bag into the canal, wouldn't you?" He knew he had her there, but she would never admit it. Heri had of course not admitted to killing or outright torturing anyone yet, so really, all they were talking about here was a little corporal punishment.

She stayed quiet for a while, the crease in her brow deep enough to wrinkle.

"But every action we take has repercussions and consequences we can't predict. You might want to hurt one person, but end up hurting more."

"That's life, 'Mione." He purposely used the nickname to make her feel more relaxed and accepted. "Life isn't fair. Everyone has reasons for acting the way they do, and you're right that every action has its consequence, but that doesn't mean you should stay dormant your whole life. Things happen. You react and move on. There as many rights and wrongs as there are opinions in the world." He saw her face screwing up even more and sighed. He was determined not to fail in this project and he really wouldn't mind having her for a friend at school. "Do you know what a magical oath is?" The sudden topic change made her look up.

"A magical oath is a promise made against your own magic. If you should break the oath your magic is forfeit. It is similar to magically binding contracts and the Unbreakable Vow, although that last one stakes your life instead of your magic." A mostly textbook answer.

"Would you be willing to make an oath not to intentionally reveal a secret I want to tell you?" She bit her lip and he could see the burning desire to know the secret warring with the fear of making such a dangerous promise.

In the end, the curiosity of an eleven year old girl won out over reason and she nodded. Heri broke out into a smile that made her extremely discomforted and sent Tilly to fetch Pugsley, who performed the spell before she could change her mind.

"Ok," She said with determination, looking intently into his deep forest green eyes. She'd already jumped off the cliff; it was time to find out if it was worth it. "What's this grand secret?"

Heri took a breath. This would be the first time he'd chosen to reveal his secret and it made him a little nervous. Not that he showed anything but cool confidence of course.

"You've read about the story of Lord Voldemort and his downfall at the hands of Harry Potter?" She rolled her eyes again like that should have been obvious but nodded for him to continue. "Well, Harry Potter was seen as a beacon of 'light' that defeated the 'evil' Dark Lord. Voldemort killed in order to further his cause," he saw her draw a deep breath and held up his hands in a sign of appeasement, "and it's a cause I disagree with of course! But he fought and did what he decided was acceptable to him to achieve his ends. Harry Potter was a baby who got lucky. He stood for nothing and made no choice regarding his place in the war and yet he is celebrated, while a man with power that even you can surely respect, and who died trying to achieve his goals is demonised. And not in a good way." Hermione couldn't hold her tongue at that!

"But he was evil," Heri really did try his best to suppress the sigh – that word again! "He killed and tortured and…"

"Because that was acceptable to _him_. And if you didn't agree – if that wasn't acceptable to you, you were free to try and oppose him. That is what the Potter's did, and their choice should be respected too. But on the night that Voldemort fell, the whole wizarding world celebrated. It was the best night many had lived through. But for their saviour it was his worst. He'd become an orphan. He'd watched his mother die before his eyes. That wasn't a night for celebration to him and a baby that old would watch the world burn in order to keep their mother and father with him… its basic psychology." Hermione paused at this. She thought she knew what he was getting at. That you had to make choices for yourself and let others make their own even if they got hurt, perhaps even if you were the one to hurt them, but…

"But the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Heri had to smile at the quote but let her continue. "It's terrible to think of a child losing its parents, but so many other people were saved because of it!"

"And that's _your_ balance, _your_ choice about something that happened when you were a baby. But tell me, if it happened now, say you had to kill a fifteen month old baby in order to defeat a dark lord and save thousands of people from living in fear and uncertainty, would you do it? Or a more common argument: if a man waited in the ER to have a cut on his finger stitched, and elsewhere in the hospital there were people who were about to die unless they got a liver, a kidney… a heart. Would you sacrifice that man in order to save the others?"

"That's not a fair question!"

"Isn't it? Because I can tell you that I don't think I would. Unless of course it was to benefit my family, in which case I would do it in a heartbeat, because that's my balance, my line in the sand." He said.

"Nobody made a choice that night…"

"The Potters chose to fight." He countered immediately. "And though Harry Potter would accept their decision, he wouldn't agree with it years later when he was lost and alone and afraid." Hermione looked upset at the image that presented. "Just as he would accept the decisions Voldemort made that night, but if he had had the power to do so, he would have fought against those decisions. He couldn't and therefore he can't hold their actions against them, neither Voldemort nor the Potters. They were both doing what they thought best." She scowled. Nobody liked having their world view challenged and this was a little too heavy a conversation for a Tuesday night!

"Well," she began and her petulant tone told him that she was reaching out for anything to throw back at him at this point, anything to save her ideas of the world, "we can't know he would have thought!" Heri took a deep breath. This was what he had been waiting for.

"Actually, I can." He declared and she gave him a look that said he was being ridiculous – who was grasping at straws now? He took her hand gently in his, trying to convey his sincerity and curb at least some of the protestations he knew he was about to receive. "I know exactly, because my birth name was Harry Potter." He whispered out.

Hermione felt her mouth drop open. Her brain scrambled to try and make sense of her friend's last statement, to find a way it made any sense at all.

"You can't be! He died! I read about it! You're American!" She went on, so he brushed his fringe aside so she could see his scar. Her eyes bugged. "But how could you accept V… why are you her…what happened to you?" He quickly patted his fringe back down. He hadn't expected her to react quite like this. She had only recently read about Harry Potter, which is why he thought it wouldn't be too big a deal if she knew that truth. He dreaded to think what would happen if any of those children that had been raised hearing of his 'great victory' found out the truth!

"That's a long story. One for another time perhaps." Never if he could help it. "I just wanted you to know so you can try to understand what I'm saying. My birth parents decided to fight in a war. People die in war and…" He trailed off. Maybe he shouldn't have taken on such a monumental task. But to his utter joy, she surprised him.

"There are as many rights and wrongs as there are opinions in the world." She repeated slowly. "You're saying that we all have to find what we are comfortable with. We can't help affecting others no matter what we do and therefore we all have to decide how much we are willing to let others suffer in order to benefit ourselves. If other people's actions affect us in a way we don't like, we should stand up and prevent them from doing so if we can." She spoke in monotone and looked up at him with tears in her eyes. He worried that he'd broken her – that hadn't been his intention. "And if I decided that I didn't want anyone to suffer at all?" He smiled at her and gave her hand a little squeeze.

"Then I would of course respect that. I just wanted you to be informed before you made your choice, because I think you would be wasted if you went through life denying the dark." She could see the sincerity in his eyes, but this was all too much and she needed time to think about it. He could see that, and so rose from the bed and headed to the door to let her sleep. He paused at the door, "Try not to view things as black and white, good and evil. You may have noticed that my family is a little dark…" She scoffed loudly, although it might have been a sob, "but we aren't monsters from Hell," unfortunately, "mother loves the arts and gives generously to charity for example, and I'm sure you've found my wonderful family friendly and accepting. No one can tell you this is right and that is wrong, you have to decide for yourself." And with that he left.

He was glad he had waited until the last night to push her like that, because during breakfast the next morning she had been quiet as the dead and didn't look like she'd slept at all.

When it came time for her to leave, she hugged Heri in a vice-tight grip that shocked him. He didn't return it as he was too stunned! And he just didn't hug! But he let her cling to him as she gave a polite thank you and then watched her leave.

* * *

He didn't hear from her during the final week of summer, but he noticed that she'd taken him up on his offer to borrow books and could only hope for the best. He knew that once you step into the shadows there's no going back, so if she could just take this step any further ideas about embracing the dark would come much more easily.

The last week of summer was the best week of summer, because it was Herido's birthday (his adoption day became his new birthday). Becoming eleven was an important milestone, so a grand ball had been thrown in his honour. Cousins from all over the world came and the party lasted into the next morning. Heri had a wonderful time and was spoiled rotten, but is favourite gift come from his parents.

He could tell before he even opened it that it was a powerful artefact. Dark, malevolent magic emanated from it and he took extra care when opening it.

Within the black paper and black box had been a wand, and as soon as he held it, he knew what this was. This was Voldemort's wand! It felt so familiar and… comfortable that it could be no one else's.

"But, how?" He managed to get out. His father laughed and slammed a hand down on his back, almost making him stumble.

"Well, we know how fascinated you are with the old boy, so we had Grandmamma find his wand. Apparently it'd been lost, but I'd have to say it was simply badly hidden."

Heri just stared at the wand. He would never use it, to do so seemed disrespectful somehow. No, he'd keep it safe and maybe one day he'd be staring down the end of it once more, only this time he'd be ready!

 **I really struggled to write this chapter and still aren't happy with it.**

 **I want Hermione dark, but didn't want such an obvious 'good girl' to be swayed with mere cookies and the like. I also didn't want her intimidated or beaten into submission, because she is perhaps the only character who can start a friendship with Herido from a position of (mostly, she thinks…), equality. She has never heard of the Addams family, nor has she yet heard the rumours of how dangerous they are.**

 **I wanted Heri to use her own desire for knowledge and intelligence against her. He makes her feel comfortable and accepted no matter what so that she keeps an open mind and doesn't immediately get defensive. He twists her through a few topics to confuse her reasoning skills a little and triggers her sense of compassion before hitting her with the shocking news of his identity – an identity that seems to give him authority on the subject even though he really has no more than anyone else.**

 **Also he doesn't lie to her, just glosses over or ignores certain truths…**

 **Honesty, if I have to write out this chapter one more time I'm going to scream haha. So that's it. I tried!**

 **Next chapter we are finally heading to Hogwarts.**

 **Thanks for reading! And thank you for the reviews, I adore you, guys!**


	3. Chapter 3

The barrier to Platform 9¾ lost its brick wall façade and become a simple iron archway as the Addams family leisurely made their way through. Still, not one muggle at Kings Cross noticed a thing and the wall was back a moment later.

Stepping out onto the platform, the family all took a moment to enjoy the heavy fumes from the billowing smoke and to observe the crowded mass of wizards and witches. A familiar feeling of distaste washed over them at the bright array of robes. Morticia looked around to see children happily chatting, faces glowing with excitement in the sun.

Eventually everyone else on the platform noticed and stared at the family and beneath her parasol, behind her black veil, Morticia could only stare back.

"Herido… help them." She said and he nodded in reply. Help them indeed.

A light breeze was gently blowing back his hair and he was glad he'd remembered to spell down his fringe. He'd let his hair grow out just a little and while it had been tamed considerably after his adoption, it still had a slightly wild look about it. You could still see traces of Potter in his face, but he thought his Addams features were much more prominent. His eyes were a lot darker now and seemed almost black when he got angry. Although they also brightened a little when he was excited and this meant that even with all his mental arts training, he had still never won a game of poker against his siblings. The only thing that could give him away was the scar, but he didn't want to get rid of it permanently and he didn't yet have the skill to produce a glamour strong enough to hide it – it was an exceptionally powerful curse scar after all. Maybe charms class would prove useful.

Many on the platform had no idea who the strange family were. Nobody had announced an Addams from America was to attend Hogwarts after all. But every well dressed, superior looking pure-blood felt their masks of indifference fail them for just a moment. The effect was almost comical; almost as one, they all suddenly broke from their previous conversations and turned to find their peers in order to share words of warning, advice or confidence.

The Malfoy family managed to fair a little better than most. It only took a moment for his calculating mind to conclude that the Malfoy Lord couldn't simply approach such a family without formal introduction. It simply went against pure-blood customs, and besides they seemed, busy, their attention now on each other. And so he took note of the small nod from his wife and then he turned to his own son, physically turning the child from the dark family to face him.

"Draco, that family is formidable," Lucius gave a frown of disapproval at the undignified noise of disbelief from his son, but continued, "it would be… prudent, to establish friendly relations with them." He glanced back to the family, as if to make sure they were still there. "It would seem that one or two of the Addams children will be attending Hogwarts this year. If the opportunity presents itself I want you to make acquaintance." Draco noticed a look of seriousness in his father that he had seldom seen directed at him and so paid close attention. Addams. He was sure he'd heard that name somewhere before. He wanted to ask more, but after glancing about the hustle and bustle of the platform, Lucius beat him to it. "This isn't the place to explain, but I will send an owl and expect my letter to be opened privately."

"Of course father, I understand." Lucius nodded and hoped he did. A call went out to urge the students onto the train and he gave his son's shoulder one last squeeze.

"And Draco this is most important: no matter into which year or house they are placed, do not make an enemy out of an Addams." He had never met the Addams' but had been assured in the past that at least some of the rumours surrounding them were true. He didn't want his son to be the one to find out which.

Herido had watched all the whispering with amusement, but decided it was time to go. If the reaction in Diagon Alley was anything to go by, the whispering would spread quickly and soon everyone on the platform would know that the Addams family were here.

His own parting had not been as quiet or measured as that of the British nobility. Wednesday had tried to nail his feet to the floor with a modified nail gun in an effort to prevent him from leaving London. He guessed she would have left him there out of spite. Pugsley had given him a pat on the back that turned out to have a surprisingly powerful electric charge. That may have created a small scene. And garnered more than a few looks and sounds of alarm. Fond farewells were given and kisses were exchanged with those that wanted them and Heri finally left for the train. Gomez and Morticia wondered whether they should start their own wizarding school in order to keep their children near, but they knew they had to let them go. Besides, she thought as she placed a hand to her stomach, soon they would have another little one running around the house, causing chaos and carnage.

* * *

Heri had found a compartment and was setting down Kounna, his Eastern Coral Snake, when he was attacked by a creature with large hair and a shockingly tight grip. He managed to stay his hand just before the blade of the kunai had cut into the back of Hermione's neck. When she noticed, she laughed and smacked his arm away.

"Really Heri, you're impossible!" It seemed she had become a little desensitised to casual threats of violence against her. The visit to his home must have had an impact after all.

He watched her as they both sat down and she started prattling on about how excited she was to finally get to school. She didn't say anything about their last conversation, but she didn't need to. She was more at peace, her magic more stable, and that could only have happened if she'd decided to embrace the darker elements of magic that were calling out to her.

She paused in her tirade when she noticed his smile, but simply smiled back and continued. He was quietly pleased that he would have one relatively normal and intelligent person to pass his time at school with.

The journey was pleasant enough – the seats dreadfully uncomfortable after the first hour and it was warm, but Kounna was enjoying the sun coming from the window, so he let the light shine in.

Soon there was a knock on the compartment door, so timid they wondered if it was a knock at all. Hermione looked to Heri.

"Yes?" He called out, sounding a little put out at the disturbance. The door slid open to reveal a shy looking round-faced boy who seemed close to tears.

"Have you seen a toad at all? Mine keeps getting away from me." He let Hermione answer in the negative and as she proceeded to engage him in conversation about said toad, he gave the boy a cursory once-over. Despite his appearance, this, Neville (he'd just caught his introduction), had the potential to be a considerable wizard. Heri couldn't sense anything particularly dark about him, which was a shame, but maybe with a little help he could… No! His mother had said to help these children, but he wasn't inclined to play Saint Addams. He would wait and see who was worth the effort first. Hopefully this boy would prove himself, but for now he had no patience to deal with the nervous wreck. Maybe Hermione would take pity on him and help out.

Quickly after Neville had left to continue his toad hunt, the peace was once again disturbed as a gangly ginger boy came barrelling through the door. He slid the door closed quickly and listened a few moments. By the time he turned to see who else was in this compartment, Hermione's eyes with filled with mirth, she'd let go of Heri's arm and he'd put away the shuriken, turning to give his attention to the passing countryside instead of this intruder. He should have locked the door.

"Sorry about that! I'm hiding from my brothers. They thought it was funny to chase me with their friend's giant tarantula. I hate spiders!" Heri found it amusing too, and thought it was kind of the boy to announce his fear to total strangers. "I'm Ron, by the way, Ron Weasley." Heri gave him a quick glance, but stayed quiet as Hermione once again made the introductions. Weasley, yes he should have guessed.

He heard a small ruckus out in the hallway, and as he looked to the door it seemed to slide open of its own accord just as two identical red heads were going by. Heri didn't bother to suppress his smile.

"Ah ickle Ronniekins, there you are! You ran out before you could properly meet Charlotte!" The two were twins and shared wicked grins that Heri guessed reflected not a small amount of sadism. They looked around the room and gave an exaggerated bow.

"Hi, I'm Gred."

"And I'm Forge." Hmm, even their magic was identical. Interesting. He wondered if they could feel each other's pain – he'd heard that twins could sometimes do that. They continued:

"It's nice to meet you! We hope our little brother wasn't being too annoying." The chorused together. Heri liked these two; they were amusing.

"Shut-up!" Ron scowled.

"I'm Herido Addams and this is Hermione Granger. How do you do?" He finally spoke up. The twins' grins become almost manic. It was a fine look.

"Are you really?" Twin number one sounded far too excited. "Have you heard, George? The rumours on the train?" Fred then.

"I have indeed, dear brother." George returned in the same tone. "Rumours of a scary firstie."

"Apparently he was the one who broke into Gringotts."

"Has turned three prefects into toads."

"Can kill with a look."

"And drinks the blood of small furry animals." Heri had to let out a laugh at that one.

"Is it true? Are you really dangerous?" They asked as though the very prospect was thrilling. Heri crossed his arms.

"Well, that depends." He answered. His eyes were still laughing, but his even tone and small smirk made them feel just a little less excited.

"On what?" Fred asked. Heri shrugged.

"On whether you brought the tarantula with you." The twins shared a look. They weren't entirely sure of the right answer.

"No, it's our friend, Lee Jordan's." Heri let out a sigh of disappointment.

"That's a shame. Kounna was getting a little hungry." They looked down and noticed for the first time, the snake curled up on the boy's lap. Ron gave a short eep and left the compartment quickly.

"Cool!" The twins chorused. "Is _he_ dangerous?" They looked like they wanted to pet the snake, but were holding themselves back. These two were nuts. He liked them.

"It's a she. And of course she is; she's mine." He held Kounna out for them to take. They looked a little nervous about accepting her, until Hermione spoke, not looking up from the book that seemed to have materialised in her hands during the encounter. He guessed she didn't find them as amusing.

"But she won't attack unless she's told to." She informed in that authoritative tone of hers.

"Spoilsport." Heri huffed as one of the twins – he'd lost track – took the snake and started to coo at it. Really nuts.

He was about to offer Fred and George a seat, when a blonde boy with sharp features and a more plain looking boy popped their heads around the door. The blonde scowled when he noticed the redheads.

"Oh, excuse me." His words were cordial but his tone was a little insincere. "We were looking for the Slytherin prefects. Goyle passed out after eating an every flavour bean." He informed them.

"That's ok," Heri said in defeat. "It's turning into a conference room in here anyway. Why don't you come in?" He gestured to the open seats. "You don't happen to know which flavour bean it was, do you?" He sounded a little hopeful and Draco did a double take at his tone.

"No, I don't. And I should really find that prefect..." Draco thought the boy was strange, almost like… "I'm Draco Malfoy and this is Theodore Nott, how do you do?" He held out a hand, which Herido accepted politely.

"I'm Herido Addams. This is Hermione Granger and these are either Fred or George Weasley. Take your pick." The twins snickered. Draco felt himself sneer a little at Granger's name. Was this really the boy from such an important family? In the company of Weasleys and mudbloods? Maybe his dad was mistaken, but he had seemed so sure.

"Actually, we best get back." One of the twins declared.

"I was nice to meet you guys." The other finished as they made their way out, having placed Kounna down beside Heri.

"Are you ok, Draco?" He asked, still in a good mood from the twins visit. Draco had faltered for a moment, but quickly pulled himself together.

"Of course." He decided to take the offered seat after all and inclined his head in a way to suggest Nott do the same. He was sure Goyle would be fine. "You sound American. How is it you came to be attending Hogwarts?" He asked trying to make conversation.

"Oh, my parents thought it would be beneficial for us, that is, my siblings and I, to gain experience from other countries and cultures."

Hermione had looked up at the new boys after they sat down. She had of course read all about pure-bloods and their prejudice against witches like her, and she and Heri had discussed it a little. She decided to test the waters and see if it was true with the obvious pure-bloods before her.

"I was initially going to Durmstrang, but mother didn't like the idea of me being so far from home."

"But why would you want to go there? I heard Hogwarts is the best magical school there is." She quickly got an answer to her thoughts. Both boys turned to look at her with sneers – like they thought she was something on the bottom of their shoes.

Draco bit back his retort, not having assessed what she was doing here yet and not wanting to blow this opportunity over some mudblood.

Theodore wasn't as thoughtful.

"He wasn't talking to you, filthy little…" His breath caught in his throat as the air itself seemed to hold him still with a force that would surely do physical damage. It felt like his chest was pressing in on his heart and lungs and he couldn't breathe!

"I would suggest you don't finish that sentence, Theodore." Herido said in a tone that made Draco's blood run cold. It made him want to start apologising, even though he wasn't the one who'd offended. His father had been right then. He gulped and looked at Nott, who was gasping for air with a look of panic on his face. If he could speak he would beg. Draco said nothing.

"It's ok, Heri." Hermione said, surprising Draco. Heri turned his sharp, dark eyes to her, but Nott was still struggling to breathe.

"No it is not." His tone and that stare made her shiver. She'd never seen him angry before and if she weren't so pleased that he was defending her, she would have been frightened. She took a breath to steady herself and continued.

"No, I mean, do you mind if I try?" Intrigue immediately broke through his hardened features and he gave a curt nod.

Nott immediately began to draw in greedy gasps of breath when he felt Herido release him. He was just managing to gather his wits, when he felt himself gripped once again, only this time it was nowhere near as powerful and he could still breathe and fight against the hold.

Draco turned as he heard Herido draw in a sharp breath.

Heri was shocked to his core!

It had been an awfully long time since he'd felt so, but it seemed his new friend continued to surprise him! The ability to use your power to overpower someone else's only came from sacrificial magic! She was obviously straining to hold the boy, and was a little winded herself, but she managed to give him a small smile.

Nott broke free and was about to turn his rage on the mudblood, when Herido turned his attention back to the boy, with eyes so dark and cold that he froze for long enough to hear the next words spoken.

"I suggest you leave, Theodore. Otherwise I'll allow her to keep practising on you until we reach Hogwarts." Heri left no doubt that he was being serious, so Nott stood, not even bothering with dignity and turned to leave, wanting to get out as soon as possible. He didn't care about the girl, but he did NOT want to anger the Addams boy again.

"Are you coming, Draco?" He asked, his voice a little hoarse, even though the damage couldn't have been real. Draco froze for just a moment before replying.

"I…I'll catch up with you." And with that the three of them were left alone.

"We will be discussing this later." Heri schooled his features as he spoke to her, but Hermione could see a flash of pride there. She just beamed at him.

* * *

After the Nott incident it had taken Draco a little time to fall back into the conversation, but eventually he joined in while they were discussing houses. He made sure to keep his tone and features the same whether he was addressing Herido or the… Granger girl. The Granger girl who Addams had defended and allowed to call him _Heri_ he constantly reminded himself.

"I just know I'll be in Slytherin," Draco said with pride, "all my family have been. What about you guys?

"I'm not sure," Heri started, "I don't really know if I'm brave, so I doubt I'd be placed in Gryffindor." Draco suppressed his snort. There was no way he would be placed in Gryffindor. "I guess I'm hard working, but I can't imagine them trying to make me wear yellow!" Heri shuddered and Hermione laughed. "I'd say it's between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. 'Mione?"

"I wouldn't mind Gryffindor" Draco couldn't help but give her a look of incredulity at that, "or Ravenclaw."

"I think you'll end up in Slytherin." Heri said with a sly smile. Now Draco really couldn't stay quiet.

"No way!" He regretted speaking when those dark green eyes pinned him in place. "I, I mean, she'd get eaten alive. There is no way the Slytherins would accept… her, in their house." He tried to defend but every word felt like he was digging a hole and he was grateful when Hermione saved him.

"He's right, Heri. I could never be placed in Slytherin."

"Oh I don't know." He said as he turned back to her with a knowing look. "I'd say you're plenty ambitious. Sly too, I'd bet." She blushed but didn't respond.

When the train finally pulled into the station, Heri, Hermione and Draco waited a few minutes for the throngs of students to alight before following.


	4. Chapter 4

As they watched over the raucous students, each member of staff had the same thing on their minds: the Addams boy. Two teachers at the Head Table were torn between trepidation and excitement. This year, the start of term staff meeting had been a little more exciting than the usual checks and preparations. It had been more like a briefing, where they had been informed of their famous new charge and advised on how to handle him, and recruited to help guard a most coveted object: the Philosopher's Stone!

Quirinus Quirrell and Severus Snape couldn't deny how much they were looking forward to observing this child from such a mysterious and dark family. Snape was a dark wizard by nature and had moved in circles that only ever spoke of that family with respect and admiration. Quirrell was always curious about finding new dark magics, but it was his master who was really intrigued.

Both servant and master were shocked at the news that Dumbledore was allowing a child that could turn out to be so dangerous into his school. Voldemort had learned of the Addams family in his many years seeking out more and more powerful magic after Hogwarts. His Knights had been quite informative, he'd visited a few branches of the family in Europe and had sought out every reference to them he could find, but every time he felt he was getting close to learning the secrets of their power, something devastating would happen to pull his attention away and eventually he got caught up in pushing forward with his plans, and left his research for a later time. It seemed this year would be a good time to continue. He had been resigned to suffering through the year, hiding quietly and waiting for a chance to take the stone, but it seemed fate had sent him something to keep his interest.

He wasn't expecting to learn the secrets of the Addams' – the boy was just a child after all, but who knew what he would reveal? Maybe he could even be recruited. It was an exciting thought.

The briefing regarding the child had been interesting to say the least. Dumbledore had stated quite clearly that he was to be treated like every other student, that the staff were to curb any dangerous behaviour or thinking as they usually would, but it was left implied that they should go about this delicately, to only act as necessary, and everyone present already knew that they didn't want to do anything that might provoke his parents. Dumbledore hoped that after the initial shock, he would just become like any other student.

* * *

The magnificence and beauty of Hogwarts castle could not be denied. It transcended all sense of aesthetics. Heri couldn't judge the other students for their gasps of appreciation as the castle came into view. And he couldn't deny his own small gasp when he sensed the immense magics of the place.

Soon enough the first years were led into the castle by a man that was even bigger than Lurch and greeted by a stern looking witch who prepared them for the sorting ceremony. Well, she had explained the 'what' but not the' how', and every idea Heri heard coming from his fellow first years to explain what the sorting consisted of was more interesting than the last, as they escalated from simple tests to fighting magical creatures. He felt Kounna tighten around his arm as she sensed him preparing for battle.

When they were finally led into the hall and presented with an old hat, Heri couldn't help but feel a little cheated. When he realised it was sentient however, he remembered that sometimes you just have to make your own fun.

The first student was called and quickly sorted into Hufflepuff. Then Herido Addams was called up to be sorted and it seemed as though the whole hall took a collective breath.

As soon as the hat was placed on his head, Heri was taken aback with how easily it slipped into his mind. He may not have been the most skilled in Occlumency (indeed he was not), but he thought he would have had some resistance to the intrusion. Never mind. He crossed his arms and ankles as the masses watched on, wondering what on earth he was doing. He thought it best to get comfy.

" _Hmm,"_ He heard the hat start speaking within his mind, _"it's been a long…"_

" _My, how rude you are."_ Heri interrupted in a light, conversational tone.

" _I, I beg your pardon_?" The hat responded dubiously.

" _I should think so!"_ Heri was starting to enjoy himself already. _"Entering a person's mind without permission…"_

" _But I can't help it, I…"_

" _And a child's mind at that!"_ He ignored the interruption and continued. _"It's a little offensive if you ask me."_

" _But I'm the Sorting H…"_

" _But entering an Addams' mind without permission? That's suicidal."_ As he had been using his foremost thoughts to speak to the hat, Heri was thinking of what memories could cause the most psychological distress. He pushed the memory of the first time he had opened Pandora's Box into the forefront of his mind.

The effect was immediate: the Sorting Hat was overwhelmed by incomprehensible evils from the beginning of time. He started to cry out in pain, but Herido quickly shushed him.

" _Hush little hat. We don't want to cause a scene, do we?"_ He pushed a little harder to drive his words home, and the hall could only watch in horror or fascination and the hat bit down hard on its own brim in an effort to stay quiet.

Heri took a moment to enjoy the muffled whimpers coming from the hat and the pleas being spoken into his mind.

" _Are you going to sort me anytime soon? That, after all, was the excuse given for your insolence, was it not?"_ The hat simply continued to writhe and whimper. He sighed and cleared his mind for a moment. The hat gave a shaky breath of relief. " _There now, wasn't that nice of me?"_ But he didn't pause for long. _"Now, let's try again."_

As he started to focus of the memory again the hat whined and let a quiet plea slip out of its mouth!

"Please!" It spoke softly, but Heri was not happy.

" _Hush!"_ His tone, that up until now had been almost friendly and teasing, became hard. He opened his mind and pushed harder and the hat went back to writhing in pain, trying to be quiet and just knowing it could get worse.

At the quiet cry, McGonagall looked back at the Headmaster for a second before she stepped forward to take the hat, but Herido held up a hand to stop her and then a finger, indicating he would just be a moment more and her hand dropped. It was probably just having a difficult time sorting the boy. She couldn't see it chewing harshly on its own brim after all.

Knowing he would have to wrap this up soon, Heri continued:

" _You wanted in my head – this is the price of admission. A little agony is really the least you can do to make this worthwhile. I was expecting a battle!"_ That hat just continued to squirm. _"You should know, I'm not going to stop this time until you do your job."_ The smile on his face was creeping out the students in front of him. Some of them looked a little pale, even though they had no idea what was going on.

The hat managed to drag in a laboured breath.

"Slytherin!" It cried out in a strangled moan. Heri immediately buried the memory and the hat sagged on his head. He held up his hand again to stop the hat from being taken.

" _I trust this will all remain private?"_

" _I'm bound to secrecy!"_ Came the hats instant reply.

" _Ah, you really should have opened with that."_ And with that Heri removed the hat and handed it McGonagall, where it seemed to almost curl up in her arms.

The Slytherin students, who had been watching intently, began the obligatory clapping as he made his way to their table. He gave Hermione a wink as he walked, but she just shook her head in exasperation. He felt sharp eyes watching his steps from the Head Table and had to bite his tongue to keep from grinning. What fun!

The Sorting Ceremony had to be suspended for a few minutes in order for the Hat to recover enough to continue. To fill the time this took, Dumbledore gave a small speech about the upcoming year and when the hat still wasn't ready, he decided to give the start of term announcements early. Heri took note of each one: the Forbidden Forest was out of bounds – a silly rule, easy to ignore; no magic was to be used in the corridors – again, obviously a rule made to be ignored; Quidditch trials – Draco had mentioned on the train that the balls they used at school didn't explode or contain lethal blades, and Heri thought this made the game a little dull, so he wouldn't be playing. The last announcement however, did catch his interest:

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." Did that mean you were allowed there if you didn't mind dying a painful death? He was impressed that something so dangerous would be at this school. Pugsley was going to be so jealous. As far as Heri knew, they had nothing like this at Ilvermorny.

When the Sorting resumed, Heri watched as each student took to the stool in an effort to remember their names and faces.

Millicent Bulstrode was the first one to be sorted into Slytherin after Heri. He clapped and greeted her politely when she reached the table, but as she went to sit beside him, he informed her that the seat was already taken. She gave him an odd look and then left a space. He noted as a few of the older students nodded their greeting to her as though they were previously acquainted, but turned his attention back to the sorting when he heard Hermione's name called.

As she disappeared beneath the hat, he could see her worrying her lip. The sorting took about thirty seconds and then the hat loudly declared 'Slytherin!'.

Almost every person in the Great Hall felt their minds blank for a few seconds. And then chaos erupted.

The Slytherins, who had presented a dignified front up until now, were by far the loudest and crudest in their objections. Some actually stood to help express their outrage. Across the other three tables the reactions were mixed. There were many looks of quiet disbelief and Heri could hear the Weasley twins howling with laughter above all the noise. It seemed that everyone had started conversations with those around them, all with different views about this sorting. Herido thought the overreaction was rather silly. He was under the impression that muggleborns had been sorted into Slytherin before, but it would appear that no one was expecting it.

The excited chattering didn't seem to be ebbing any time soon and from the looks on some of the Slytherin's faces, he couldn't help but hope there might be a riot. He watched the scene from his place at the table, like a king gazing upon an interesting entertainment, a small smirk playing on his lips and fingers lightly strumming the table.

He was quite pleased with the outcome of his efforts and gave Hermione a nod as she made her way over to him. She sat between him and Bulstrode, who quickly moved much further down the bench and as Heri turned to greet her he realised she was shaking and looking down at her clasped hands. He frowned. He heard a nearby Slytherin tell her to leave, but before he could do anything about it, Dumbledore stood once more and called for calm.

After a few words of levity, the sorting resumed for the second time, and Herido ignored it in favour of observing his friend.

Hermione could only stare at her hands. She had expected a reaction when she'd heard the hat's decision, but to feel so much hate directed at her was too much. She'd thought that she would be able to deal with it – she'd often been a target for bullying at her old school, but this was something else. The aggression almost felt tangible and she worried about what would happen to her now.

"'Mione?" She looked up just a little at the sound of her friend's voice, unshed tears in her eyes. She watched as his eyes narrowed a little and he tilted her chin up. "You belong in this House, Hermione." He spoke with reassuring conviction. "More so than any of these ignorant fools, I imagine. Do not give them permission to make you feel bad or unworthy!" His voice was rather sharp and she gave him a small smile. She was terrified, but she wasn't alone.

During their little chat, Draco had also been sorted into Slytherin. He took a seat opposite Herido. There was plenty of room as a bubble had appeared around Hermione where no Slytherin would sit. The others at the table were shocked to note the Malfoy heir sit and greet both Herido and Hermione.

Draco could see the girl's terror and Heri's frown and decided to try and ingratiate himself a little more:

"You know that now you're a Slytherin, you're not allowed to wear that look." He tried for cool apathy. "This is the best House and you should be proud to have been sorted here!" He kept his chin in the air, as though he only really cared about the House looking superior and turned to watch the sorting. Heri smiled at the look of shock on the girl's face. Draco had something of a politician about him and so far it was proving rather useful.

McGonagall looked extremely pleased to be finished with the sorting this year. Dumbledore stood.

"I'm sure we're all looking forward to the opportunity of welcoming our new Housemates after this most interesting sorting ceremony. Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few more words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

Heri felt a little lost: what was that supposed to mean? Was it code?

"Aren't you hungry?" He looked up to see Draco filling his plate with the food that had appeared at some point. Ah! A spell then? Hermione let out a quiet laugh at his confused expression.

"I think he was just trying to ease the tension." She suggested.

"Father says he's simply mad." Draco added.

Heri conceded that both might be right and took a look at the food. It all looked rather bland, but he settled for some of the rarer beef and vegetables, wishing he had brought his own seasoning. He'd have to send for some.

"You should eat too." He told Hermione. She hadn't even bothered putting food on her plate.

"You'll need it!" Came a nasty voice from amongst the first years, but Heri hadn't been looking to see who had spoken.

"I really don't think I could eat a thing." She admitted quietly. Once again she was far too subdued for Heri's liking.

"Nonsense!" He declared surely. "We have classes tomorrow and if you underperform due to lack of brain fuel you will have let them win. That's unacceptable!" He tapped her plate and then lifted her chin again. He had once seen his mother telling Wednesday that if you create a life you are responsible for it. This had been back when she was trying to animate her dolls, but he thought it applied to this situation too. He was at least partially responsible for creating this girl and he would see her victorious.

During the meal the ghosts arrived to greet the students en masse. After meeting with a few prominent seniors, the Bloody Baron made his way down the Heri.

"Mr Addams. Welcome to Slytherin House!" He spoke politely at least.

"Baron." Heri said in greeting, keeping an eye on the ghost. He was wary of what he would make of _all_ the new members of his house. He was, after all, a symbol of Slytherin and therefore all the prejudices they espouse. Well, he supposed it was better to find out what he was dealing with sooner rather than later. "Baron, may I introduce my fine friend, Miss Hermione Granger."

The Baron stared at Herido a moment more, before turning his attention to said girl, looking altogether unimpressed.

"Ah yes, Miss Granger. I can only expect great things from you!" He spoke in a way that made it obvious she had _better_ be great. "For one of your kind to be honoured with entrance to our most noble house surely means you have something worthwhile." Heri gave her a miniscule nod and this time he didn't have to lift her chin for her.

"Of course, Baron." Heri was pleased to hear that authoritative tone – it worked well for her. "I expect to be fighting Heri here for the place of top student!" The Baron held back his opinions for now. He didn't really appreciate the girl's overconfidence, but many of his ghost friends attended Addams' Balls and he suspected this child could have him exorcised if he so wished.

"I hope you are right Miss Granger. Slytherin has won the House cup for many years now and if we lose out this year, we will only be able to look to our weakest link for the blame." He gave her a look that told her he thought she was the weakest link, and then threw up his own chin and moved further along the row. Heri gave her a smile and both Draco and Hermione thought she had done very well in dealing with the scary Bloody Baron. Draco was worried about what his father would have to say about his new acquaintance with the mu…ggleborn, but if nothing else she had balls!

After the Baron had left, Draco's old friend Blaise Zabini came over to greet him with a look of questioning and the smallest of glances to the controversial new girl. It seemed that the presence of the teachers and Addams boy was holding everyone a bay for the moment, but Draco's friends wanted answers. Draco could only hope his family name could save him from the social suicide he was about to commit.

"Blaise," He started, making sure to keep his tone superior. "I never should have doubted you'd make it into Slytherin. That's twenty galleons I owe you! Let me introduce our new Housemates, Herido Addams and Hermione Granger."

"Zabini… are you related to the famous enchantress?" Heri spoke and Blaise paused for a moment, unable to tell whether the words were an attack or a simple question of facts. In the end he decided it would be in his interest to stay civil with the Addams and gave him the benefit of the doubt.

"I am. It's nice to meet you, Addams." He said, and Draco noticed with disappointment that his friend had neglected to greet Granger. "Draco, Pansy's been asking for you."

Hermione was feeling a little more confident after her encounter with the Baron and with Herido by her side.

"Well there is plenty of room here for anyone that wants to join us." She spoke 'us' purposefully and noticed as the dark haired boy's featured started to screw up. Draco quickly stepped in to prevent his friend from answering. He had a feeling that whatever was about to come out of Blaise's mouth would have seen him Giant Squid food by the end of the night. He forced out a laugh.

"A great thing about Pure-Bloods is that we all tend to know each other; I'm sure she's busy catching up with friends." Blaise simply frowned at his friend, but then Draco gave him the tiniest of head shakes and he remembered how disturbed Nott had seemed on the train when he returned alone. He wouldn't talk about what had happened, but clearly something was going on that he didn't know about. He had known Draco for a long time and couldn't imagine him playing nice with a mudblood without good cause. This had to be down to the Addams.

Rumours about the boy had been circling and getting more and more exaggerated during the journey to Hogwarts. The pureblood children had sat together and shared what they had heard about the family, but no one really seemed to know any facts. All he could really say with any sense of surety was that they were a dark family from America, but if Draco was taking the boy seriously, perhaps he should too. He glanced around the table. None of the other Slytherins were taking cues from the Malfoy heir, so maybe he was simply overanalysing the situation and Draco had been taken in. On the other hand, there was no smoke without fire, right? If any of the rumours on the train had been true, it would be worthwhile getting friendly with Addams before everyone else moved in. In the end he supposed it came down to trusting his friend's judgement.

He resigned himself to his fate and sat down beside Draco, focusing on the conversation now being shared between the other three. With obvious reservations, he formally introduced himself to both Addams and Granger and joined the conversation as courteously as he could. And he did his best to ignore the stares from his fellow first years.

Heri couldn't distinguish this boy's magic. There were too many people present to get a solid reading, but he knew that any extra bodies would help combat the prejudice his friend would have to deal with and so he allowed the boy to stay.

* * *

The teachers had all watched the events of the evening with rapt attention. Albus could help but feel relieved. Herido Addams might have come from a dark family, but it seemed he was protecting the unfortunate Granger girl, so things were looking up. Maybe the girl's placement in Slytherin could turn out to be a great turning point in overthrowing Pure-Blood prejudice. He was suddenly excited to meet with the boy and find out if he could be useful in the upcoming fight against the dark!

Severus Snape felt a headache coming on. He had of course expected to be receiving Addams into his House, but the reality of the situation was somewhat harder to comprehend. He supposed that mentoring the boy would produce opportunities unavailable to the other teachers. But on top of having to deal with the boy, he had been given the responsibility of caring for a muggleborn student. That had never happened before on his watch. He would have to find out what, if anything, had been done to protect students in this situation in the past. Snape too was relieved to see that Addams seemed to have taken the girl under his wing, but couldn't begin to guess at what that meant!

Voldemort was disturbed. There had been no doubt in anyone's mind that the Addams boy was dark, and the events of his sorting seemed to have proved it, as well as being mildly entertaining. But his behaviour towards the mudblood was confusing. He should have been a sure-fire ally. Had Dumbledore gotten to him? He would have to have Quirrell create an opportunity to speak with the boy about his ideologies. He could only hope that his involvement with the girl was merely part of some plan to amuse himself, but he seemed so genuine.

The feast eventually ended with the school song. He didn't join in, but Heri appreciated the twins performing the song to a slow funeral march. It made the song much more tolerable in his opinion.

* * *

 **I had to cut this chapter in two as I felt it was running a little long and don't want lengthy chapters.**

 **Now that the holidays are over, I won't be able to update as often, but will aim for at least two chapters a week.**

 **Thank you as always xx**


	5. Chapter 5

The small group of first years were led down into the dungeons and Heri could already tell he was going to like it here. It was dark and dank and the lack of natural light made it wonderfully gloomy. His contentment only grew as they entered the common room. They were enveloped in an eerie green glow from the floating lights and windows looking out into the lake. It was finely furnished in darker colours, with silver accents and had a sprinkling of snake motifs.

When Snape entered to greet the first years, he made sure to look at each of them, but his gaze lingered on Addams and Granger. After he gave his usual speech on expected behaviour and house pride, he decided to address the elephant in the room.

"Now, you hopefully have the wherewithal to have noticed the shock caused my Miss Granger's sorting." Hermione shrunk a little at being singled out, but then immediately bounced back to stand tall. She was just going to have to deal with this, she told herself, be brave; it's not that bad… she was relieved as Snape kept talking. "I want to make this very clear: those placed into our House are done so because they have the potential to be great! Slytherins are clever and ambitious and cunning, but we are also known for our brotherhood and I expect this year to be no exception! You _will_ accept all members of this House, regardless of personal beliefs and you _will_ at the very least present a united front to the rest of the school! I do not want to see any student singled out or vilified. If you have a problem with a fellow Slytherin, it stays within these walls. To go around the castle acting like indignant Gryffindors is not cunning or clever and if nothing else will only increase the prejudice we in Slytherin are subjected to. That's not going to make anyone's lives any easier." He looked around at each student again to try and see which ones would be a problem. "I would like to prove wrong all those fools who caused such a scene at the ceremony" he ignored that a great deal of that had come from his own little snakes, but was satisfied to see some of them looking a little sheepish at being likened to a Gryffindor. "Do not disappoint me." And with one last lingering gaze, he turned and swept out of the room, robes billowing behind him.

Heri thought the man had style! And a curious magic that he couldn't wait to get a better look at.

Unfortunately, after the prefects had also left and the older students were starting to pile in, it became apparent that a number of children had not taken Snape's words to heart. Quite a large crowd gathered round them, but Heri was pleased to notice that many simply rolled their eyes at their peers and went about their business. Good for them. Pansy Parkinson stepped forward, apparently happy to take the lead here.

"Snape only said those things because he's a teacher, you know. He doesn't think you belong here anymore than the rest of us!" There was a collective noise of agreement. Heri just watched for now.

"Pans, I don't think now is the time…" Draco tried to gently get the girl to back off, knowing her well enough to know that she was about to get mean. It had been a long day and honestly he just wanted to get to bed. Hermione interrupted him.

"It's ok, Draco." He winced at her use of his name. He really didn't need everyone thinking he was on such friendly terms with the girl, but he said nothing. He would get more information from his father tomorrow and then he could make a more informed decision about how he would handle the situation. He already knew he would be heeding the advice to not make an enemy out of Addams, but anything beyond that was still up for debate.

"It's not ok, mudblood!" They heard a small tsk from Heri at her use of that word, and Draco turned alarmed eyes to him, but the dark haired boy did nothing. "You should go home! People like you don't belong in this school! You don't even look the part. If I didn't already know your parents were disgusting muggles, I'd have thought you were part troll." A round of laughs at the insult later, and those in the know where beginning to feel more and more uncomfortable. Nott and Greengrass were watching from the side lines with caution and curiosity.

"Resorting to the use of attacks of person or character is a basic fallacy. It implies that you already know your argument is baseless and/or lost and you are getting desperate. Well, I'm unimpressed and unaffected by your juvenile attempts. If you don't have any intelligent argument as to why I shouldn't be here, I suggest we all be getting to bed. We have classes tomorrow!" Hermione kept her head high and her voice only waivered once. Heri was grinning at how fun this was. He wanted to applaud her for maintaining dignity when he knew she would actually be very affected by all this. Draco just wanted to scream at the girl that she wasn't doing herself any favours and wouldn't be making any friends with that damn annoying tone of hers!

Pansy was starting to turn red with outrage.

"You really think I'm going to sleep in the same room as you?! I'm likely to catch something!" Heri raised an eyebrow at that. Did the girl think Hermione's 'dirty blood' was going to bleed out and attack her in her sleep? "You're going to find out exactly what we do with your sort!" She stepped forward and things looked like they might get physical.

"Daphne!" Heri suddenly called in his jovial tone – as though he wasn't standing in the middle of a room so thick with tension you could choke. "It's nice to see you again. How was your summer?" Everyone looked round to Daphne, either disconcerted at the sudden change of mood or surprised that their friend already knew Addams as she hadn't said anything.

Daphne gulped a little but responded in her perfected superior tone.

"Most enjoyable, Herido. We visited the Italian Lakes. Did you and your… family, have a nice summer." She thought she was doing very well given the circumstances.

"Good, good, it was most dreary. Say, I was wondering whether you could do me a favour. My friend here," He threw an arm around Hermione and pulled her forward, "doesn't know anyone in this house yet. Could you help her get settled? Make sure she's ok?" Daphne paled. He couldn't honestly be tasking her with the mudbloods safety! She wouldn't be able to sleep for watching the girl, not to mention making herself a target in the girl's dormitory. But she remembered the look on her father's face that morning at the beginning of summer and the talk they had had later that day, and she knew she couldn't refuse.

"Of, of course. Slytherins always take care of their own." She was hoping to make it sound like an act of house honour, but her eyes were wide with dread. This wasn't how the school year was supposed to start!

Hermione gave Heri a flat look, but was quietly grateful. Everyone else was looking at Daphne in outrage or pity.

One of the older boys stepped forward. It seemed that Herido's involvement in this dispute had opened up an opportunity for them to join in too. Heri rolled his eyes. Wednesday could teach these boys a thing or two. Hermione too soon enough, if he had anything to do with it. He was pulled from his musings when he realised he was being addressed.

"…supposed to be from a good family, but you can't just waltz in from America and tell people what to do!" The boy would have had a nasty, mean looking face even without the sneer.

"Of course not!" Heri countered as though shocked at the mere suggestion. "I need a partner to waltz!" He was sure the mean looking boy actually just growled at his response.

His apparent lack of concern about being ganged up on by the older students was aggravating the boys to no end. The leader looked like he was fighting to hold himself back from throwing a punch.

"You know," he started with a look of disappointed condescension, "a lot of people had high hopes for you, but it turns out you're just another muggle lover. You should watch your back! That goes for you too Malfoy!" Heri heard Draco groan, but continued to smile. He didn't care about the boy's words, but he did not appreciate that look, not one bit.

"What is it about Hermione that you find so threatening?" His tone had only become a little less friendly. He didn't want to spoil his fun after all. He sensed out the boys magic: fairly dark, but not very powerful for someone his age. He heard some faceless boy call out 'kill him, Flint!' Flint then. Good to know.

"As if I could be threatened by a little girl!" Flint snarled. "She just doesn't belong here!"

Heri's smiled failed and he smirked just a little.

"Oh, I assure you she does." His tone was amused now, but inside he could wait to teach this boy a lesson. "More so than you. Of that, I am certain." Flint clenched his fists and stepped forward.

"That's it, Addams! I don't know how things work in America, but here the place of mudbloods is at our feet! And I think you should join them there…" Flint was shouting now, but he stopped himself as he looked at the sly smile haunting the younger boy's face. Some part of him, he suspected the part that dealt with self-preservation, was telling him to back off, but he was so angry and this kid was infuriating.

"Do you?" Heri asked and everyone could see a gleam of excitement in his eyes that made them shiver.

Everyone but Flint; he was too worked up. _Absolutely infuriating,_ he thought and proceeded to spit straight at Heri's face. Faster than anyone could believe, Heri's hand came up and he caught the spit, looking down at the disgusting substance for a moment, before closing his fist.

There were gasps from all around and everyone was watching to see how Addams would respond. When Herido looked up, his smirk was down-right evil. Even Flint sobered up at seeing it. But when he spoke his voice was calm, like he was discussing the weather.

"A few years back, I met the most interesting tribe in the Amazon jungle." Everyone's jaw dropped in a what-the-hell? fashion. "They'd discovered a way of using anything; hair, skin, bone, even fluids, as a channel to gain influence over a person. Are there any classes like that here?" Everyone was still too stunned to respond for a moment, but Hermione was being to look a little fearful.

"H, Heri…" She started but was interrupted by Flint, who was suddenly eager to leave.

"You're a freak, Addams!" He declared and quickly made his way to the dorms. This was taken as some kind of signal to indicate the show was over and everyone else dispersed too, feeling a little uncomfortable, but not being able to specifically place why.

Soon, only Daphne, Draco, Hermione and Blaise remained, all sporting a look of outright incredulity.

"You, you're just going to let him get away with that?!" Draco sputtered. Well, that had been anticlimactic! He for one certainly hoped that Herido wasn't going to let that go, otherwise they would all be eaten alive. To his relief, Heri actually scoffed.

"Of course not. Le genie est une longue patience"

"Genius is patience." Draco translated.

Herido suddenly lifted his arm and started hissing, to the concern of three of those present. Hermione just watched as Kounna slithered down and was handed to her.

"Kounna is going to watch over you and will attack anyone who tries to disturb your sleep." She smiled and nodded her thanks. He turned to Daphne, "You might want to mention that to your friends. Her venom is lethal after all."

The three purebloods wanted to react to the news that Addams was a Parselmouth, they really did, but a part of them knew they should have guessed – it was a dark trait after all – and a bigger part of them had had enough and just wanted to go to sleep.

"Right, well, we should get to bed." Blaise tried. Heri hmmed.

"You go, I just need a word with the Baron. You don't happen to know where he spends his nights, do you?" He turned when he heard the ghost's voice behind him.

"Well usually, tonight I would be playing Bridge, but I wanted to see how things were going here. As interesting as expected, I see!" The Baron laughed and the other students gave up and excused themselves. "Now, what can I do for you, Mr Addams?"

"Baron, I'm going to need a place to perform a ritual and would prefer not to go out to the forest right now. Do you know of anywhere?" He didn't need to say 'dark ritual'. He smiled darkly down at his hand. A hand that nobody else had noticed was still clenched.

* * *

The next morning, Draco thought it was a good thing that Herido had slept late and hadn't come to breakfast with the other first years. Mail had come early and every single pure-blood and many half-bloods had received a letter from their parents. It seemed that word had quickly spread about an Addams attending school with their children.

It had been a little awkward to greet Hermione without Heri present, but once Draco excused himself to read the letter from his father, he was glad that he'd made the effort. The letter had lacked most of the pomp that his father usually indulged in. It informed Draco in plain English that it was understood the Addams' were the darkest family known to the wizarding community, and that they had immense power to back that up, that their wealth far outstripped the Malfoy's, and that their political influence was undisputed. He also said that the Addams' children attended muggle school which was against the law in America, but hadn't been stopped. That thought left a sour taste in his mouth. Associating with muggles? He could only pray that wasn't true.

All in all they were a powerful family. But what really got to Draco was the warning within the words. It was the same warning he had received the day before, only this time Lucius had included a why: apparently anyone who had challenged, opposed or simply got in the Addams' way end up dealing with tragedy and defeat – powerful businessmen had gone bankrupt, influential socialites reduced to anxious shut-ins, prominent lines had died out due to unexplainable tragedies, political secrets outed and politicians impeached. The list went on. The family weren't just dark, they were extremely dangerous. Draco could hardly believe that one family could be responsible for so much fear, but the Slytherin table had been completely subdued after everyone had received their own letters. Most likely letters just like his, Draco thought.

It just seemed so illogical that a family no one ever really talked about above the odd whisper held so much power. If it was true then why didn't they use any of it? Lucius had speculated that all the mystery surrounding the family was part of its power. For reasons unknown, nobody ever seemed willing to talk about their own encounters with the family. All the rumours about them came from simply observing effect and consequence, as well as a handful of old stories that were assumed to be rumours.

Draco was intrigued, but also a bit freaked out. The family sounded more like an urban legend than anything else! He shook his head and went back to breakfast, taking note of all the quiet whispering and looks of trepidation – mostly from the Slytherin students.

He saw Hermione sitting alone, reading some textbook or another, but noticed that no one was bothering her this morning even after he'd left her alone to read his letter. He re-joined her – now convinced he'd made the right choice in tolerating the girl and sensing much less hate from his peers for doing so.

"Draco what on earth is going on? Did Heri do something to the Slytherins?" She asked him as soon as he was seated. Why would she think Heri had done something? Oh right, she of course hadn't received a letter. He shook his head.

"No, I just imagine that a lot of students have received orders from their parents about not antagonising Herido." He suggested but she just frowned.

"Why would parents care about it? I know he's a little… but I'm sure there are quite a few students like that in Slytherin." Draco was a little confused. Granger seemed to know more about Herido than anyone else – well, more fact at least. Perhaps it was just because she wasn't used to their society yet.

"He comes from a powerful family. It's a politics thing." He said nonchalantly.

"I know his family are… wait is that why you've been so nice to me?" She asked and Draco actually felt a little, tiniest bit bad about the question; he hadn't really been nice to her after all, he just hadn't attacked her.

His young mind raced to find an answer. If he confessed he was sure the news would get back to Addams and all his work so far would be for nothing, but he couldn't really deny it, could he? In the end he decided that if he was going to be around Granger for the long haul, he'd have to be a little more of himself around her and aimed for somewhere in-between.

"Don't get me wrong, you seem really, erm, intelligent and everything, but I was raised to believe that muggleborns don't deserve magic, so if you hadn't already known Herido, I doubt I'd have given you the time of day," No, he'd have been in the lynch mob. "But my friendship with Herido was unexpected. I'm glad it happened though. With both him and you." She was frowning and Draco was beginning to worry. He should have just denied everything. She stood and grabbed an apple.

"I'll see you in class, Draco." She declared. _Shit._

He was in two minds about whether to go after her, when he was joined by a few of his Slytherin friends. He looked up to see Adrian Pucey, an older student greet him.

"Is it true, Malfoy? What our parents are saying?" He was straight down to business. Draco probably didn't know any more than them, but there was no reason to let them know that.

"Don't you trust your own parents?" He asked and went back to his breakfast.

"Knock it off, Malfoy. What do you know? Everyone has gotten scary letters about Addams, but there are a few claiming that it's all nonsense and we shouldn't been cowed by some ridiculous stories! I'm tempted to agree given his choice of friends and the fact I'd never heard of him before yesterday! You obviously know something? What with how you've befriended the mudblood and all?" It was Bulstrode this time.

"I know that I would take care when using that word around him, isn't that right, Nott?" The students turned to question said boy and Draco made his getaway. He most certainly didn't think it was nonsense. In fact, he thought some of his housemates were burying their head in the sand. This would have all been so much more straight forward if Heri had dealt with the situation last night!

* * *

Hermione made it back to the common room in time to see Marcus Flint being levitated out on a stretcher. She saw that the Zabini boy was there and asked him what had happened.

"Nobody knows. His year mates let him sleep late, and then when they came to tell him to get ready for class, he wouldn't wake up!" Both first years were thinking the same thing; this was somehow down to Heri, but they were saved from voicing their opinions by the sound of violent coughing coming from the dorms.

When Heri reached the common room, he had to stop, doubled over as each cough felt like it was ripping out his lungs. He just couldn't decide whether these little perks of smoking were worth the lack of self-control that came with addiction. He didn't actually smoke all the time, but when he did he got through packets at a time. He had enjoyed himself so much last night that he'd ended up lighting up, and this had led to him chain-smoking the night away as he indulged in punishing the mean looking boy.

Once he was able to breathe again, Hermione tossed him an apple which he gratefully accepted.

"Addams," Blaise started, "have you heard about what happened to Flint?" Addams' smile told him everything he needed to know.

"No, I've not heard anything." He hadn't _heard_ anything – he'd just got up. "Hermione, I'm hoping you picked up a class schedule?" It was too early to deal with the chipper students and he would like to avoid the Great Hall if at all possible.

"I did, of course." Right, he should have just assumed. "Heri I need to talk to you."

"Of course, of course." He said as he made his way over to her. "Blaise, if you could just give us a moment?" He asked and Blaise couldn't believe the boy in front of him expected him to leave the common room to give them privacy! Wouldn't it be more practical for them to leave? He gave them a questioning look, but gave his ascent and left. "What is it?"

"It's Draco… well it's everyone. They all seem to be…oh I don't know. But I'm worried that Draco only wanted to be friends with us because he thinks your family is influential." Heri let out a laugh.

"Influential? We're basically just a normal American family." Ok, Hermione knew for certain that that was not true. And his sly smile told her that he knew it too. "It's just the Addams charm. It happens all the time. And hey, it's not as though you would let Draco use you for his own ends, you're too smart. So who cares why he accepted your friendship? There are tons of reasons for approaching someone, it only matters whether you like what you see once you've scratched the surface. If he only accepted you because of me then he should be congratulated for his cunning and daring – he stood against most of his friends for you last night after all," She hadn't forgotten.

"But how can you tell if he's genuine? What if I can't tell that he's using me? Or you?" She had to know. She didn't want to be a fool.

"Easy!" He declared. "You give him the benefit of the doubt and accept his friendship. And if he does end up betraying your trust, you make him regret it for the rest of his life!" His eyes had that look that promised pain when he spoke. "And I am confident that you will be able to think of something to make that happen." She actually felt better.

"Hey, Heri? What did you do to Flint?" He looked at her a moment. She was sporting her own gaze of malintent. He smiled.

"Why don't I show you?"

"After class though, right? I simply can't fall behind on my first day!" She really was something else.


	6. Chapter 6

The first week of school flew by without further incident. Most students were still assessing Herido, trying to figure out the fact from fiction. From what they'd observed in class, he was only slightly more skilled than the other first years, but rumours were beginning to circulate about an unknown wandless magic he possessed and that he had something to do with a House Elf that had been missing since the first night. Then there was that presence he had; like he was graciously tolerating their existence and sometimes it felt like they were walking on a knife edge when he was around. Even the handful of Slytherins that still suspected he was all-talk were all waiting for someone else to make the first move against him.

Several however had believed their parents' warnings and had offered a hand of friendship. Most had tried to make it seem casual and those that had crowded in the common room on the first night had tried to laugh it off as a misunderstanding. Some had been less conniving in their approach, for example the first years Crabbe and Goyle had simply stated they had been told to be friendly towards Herido and so they were, although they still seemed more comfortable shadowing Draco. Still, their presence seemed to keep some of the more foolhardy Gryffindors at a distance and so Heri put up with them.

This general reaction had, of course, been with the exception of the Weasley twins who had spoken with glee about their own letter and the obvious talent for pranking Heri would surely have, should he ever choose to team up with them.

The first year girls were getting a little peevish in their dealings with Hermione, but she assured Herido that she would handle it. She had told him all about her first sacrifice at the end of summer and Heri thought she deserved a reward and promised to show her exactly what had become of Flint (who had been moved to St. Mungo's and still hadn't woken up), but he was waiting until Saturday night as he suspected she would find it difficult to accept, and he would therefore likely end the boy's punishment then. A shame, really.

All in all, with the exceptions of anxious glances, mean stares, and tentative offers of friendship Heri had been left alone. He noticed Daphne's anxiety disorder hadn't gotten any better over the summer. She looked like she'd hardly slept since school began, poor thing.

* * *

Herido was enjoying most of his classes. He'd impressed his Herbology teacher, Professor Sprout, with his knowledge of plant care, although she seemed at pain to inform him that feeding dragon's blood to Venomous Tentacula was illegal in Britain as it made the plants stronger and homicidally aggressive. He was shocked and thought it cruel to withhold their favourite food: his mother's Tentacula always seemed so happy and playful after feeding!

He could tell that History of Magic was going to be a problem. It was boring and Heri disliked being bored. It gave his mind time to wonder to more gripping topics, such as what he was hoping to find once he managed to get away to the Forbidden Forest, or how he was going to stress test the walls of Hogwarts without drawing attention. He just had to know whether the castle was more durable than his home and he would need to find out sooner or later so he could mix the strength of his gunpowder accordingly – he didn't feel like accidentally knocking down the school, at least not until he'd gotten a proper feel for the place.

Draco had interrupted his musings.

"Can't you do something about him?" He grumbled, waving a hand in the direction of the ghost. "Binns has to be senile. I'm not even sure he knows we're here!" Heri had to agree that it was rather rude of the so-called teacher and promised to have a word with him after class.

"Professor?" He called to stop the ghost from leaving after the classroom had been vacated of students. The ghost turned to greet him.

"Ah, Perkins. Did you need something?" Heri narrowed his eyes.

"Cuthbert Binns. My name is Addams, and you would do well to remember it, _Professor_." He had no respect for this teacher, and after having had over an hour of his life wasted by the man, he no longer had any patience for him either.

"Of course, Mr Addams." The professor responded, not having noticed Heri's tone or annoyance, and with that said he turned and floated through the blackboard, having forgotten that his student had called on him for something.

Well, Heri thought, that decision was basically made for him. He would not accept being 'taught' by a teacher with no respect for their pupils or even their own vocation! He'd mention it to Grandmamma this weekend – she was in charge of his education after all.

He had been looking forward to Charms and Transfiguration, as it was his first chance to learn the lighter side of wand magic and he just knew that these classes would be invaluable. Professor McGonagall was as pleasant and chilly in class as she had been their first night in the castle. In their first lesson, she'd tasked the children with turning matches into needles. It should have been easy enough, Heri had thought. It wasn't. His mother had taught him to use his wand for some basic dark spells, and even though it had been much more strenuous than the magic he was used to, he'd managed it without too much fuss.

This was different though, like he was fighting with his wand to make it do what his will was directing it to do.

Beginning to get frustrated he'd forced his magic through the wand, eyes shut and intent on making a needle, only the little matchstick blew up quite spectacularly. McGonagall had come to reprimand him, but having seen the look of chagrin on his face, she settled for replacing his matchstick and advising he scale back on the amount of power he was using.

Near the end of the lesson, he had managed to make his matchstick, long, silver, wicked sharp and oddly enough, the exact resemblance of a senbon. He smiled; suddenly more motivated to make this class work for him. Wooden or not, he knew this could do serious damage to something with skin as delicate as, say, a human. He wandlessly summoned the box of matchsticks from McGonagall's desk when she wasn't looking and turned to Hermione.

"Say Hermione, have you decided what to do about Parkinson yet?" He asked hopefully.

At first he had been disappointed with Defence against the Dark Arts, thinking this might be another teacher he would see replaced. However, his interest was captured when he took a closer look. He'd ignored the annoying man as he stammered through the history of his ugly turban in favour of assessing his magic. For the first time ever, Heri was amazed to find that he couldn't get an accurate reading. It was as though the man's magic, and his very essence were cloaked somehow, and powerfully so. Someone without the Sight wouldn't suspect the teacher at all. He could tell that the man practised dark magic, but he could also make out something much darker too. But it was like looking at oil and water through heavy smoke – utterly impossible to make out. Heri was pleased. It seemed this man wasn't what he appeared to be and it was the most fascinating thing he'd found at Hogwarts so far.

A clue as to what Professor Quirrell might be hiding didn't come until Friday, during Potions class.

It was another class he had been looking forward to, because he'd wanted a chance to get a closer look at Snape all week, but he'd hardly seen the man, and whenever he was present in the Great Hall, Heri had caught him staring with the most peculiar look.

The potions classroom was very homey: gloomy, decorated with odd, grim looking objects and body parts in glass jars and ah, that smell! It was just like being in Grandmamma's basement room.

Once again he ignored his teacher's welcoming speech in order to finally get a look at the man's magic. He had an obviously dark and powerful magic, but it was oscillating wildly and Heri couldn't help but worry that the man might be ill. Either that or there was something that was disturbing him right down to his core – another interesting project Heri could add to his list. Like Quirrell, Snape also had a darker, almost black magic, mixed with his own, only it was clearer to see on Snape. The foreign magic was tethered to the Professor like a chain and Herido realised that it must be the man's Dark Mark! He could only marvel at how powerful Voldemort must be if the mere remnant of his power was so stark!

It was officially acknowledged that Snape had been a Death Eater, so he wouldn't need to mask his magic, but it made sense that Quirrell was trying to hide his former allegiance if he too had a Dark Mark. It did beg the question of what he was doing here at Hogwarts though.

Heri wondered if he could have any fun with this information and focused on the Mark's magic. He didn't get an opportunity to find out straight away.

Snape had been watching the Addams boy from the corner of his eye since the start of class. There was just something about the boy that riled him up. He'd noticed it when he'd greeted his new snakes, but just couldn't tell what was wrong. There was just something _off_ about the boy and Snape didn't think it had to do with the uncomfortable aura he gave out that the other teachers had complained about. No, he didn't think this had anything to do with the boy's magic at all! Given his heritage, he was expecting to be drawn to the child's magic; to feel instinctual respect or maybe even a little fear of something so dark. And he did! But he'd been around much more powerful _adult_ wizards, so what else was there?

Whatever expression Addams wore, he always exuded a calm confidence that intellectually, Snape knew the child had every right to feel. Emotionally however, something in Snape thought it made the boy arrogant. Sometimes he would catch something about his face and a strange feeling would prickle in the back of his brain. Perhaps the child was purposefully doing something to him.

With that thought he couldn't help himself; he called on the boy for a small quiz. As soon as he opened his mouth, his mind started to come up with excuses in case this backfired and he would need a defence. This was a normal thing to do, he told himself – to test the current level of new students, especially the one who many were expecting great things from.

"Mr Addams! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Heri was called to attention and noticed Hermione's hand shoot up with great amusement.

"I suspect a master such as yourself could get a great deal, depending on how it was added and which species of wormwood was used. For example, if added to an infusion of simple mugwort, it could be smoked to trigger hallucinations of the dead and provides what is said to be a wonderful snack for Shades. Whereas if added to absinthe wormwood, it makes a wicked nightcap! Although I suppose in this school you would be more likely to create a Draught of Living Death. 'Others in Elysian valleys dwell, Resting weary limbs at last on beds of asphodel.'" He added the last part wistfully.

Snape took a moment to stare before he gathered himself. What eleven year old boy could possibly be involved with things dark enough to casually know what kind of snacks Shades appreciated?! _Ok,_ he thought, _moving on:_

"Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" He regretted the question as soon as he saw the smile break out on Addams face. He didn't even notice Granger's hand going up again.

"In the stomach or sometimes large intestines of any animal, though they are most often harvested from goats. More potent types can be created by persuading a human to enjoy Rapunzel syndrome or can be… artificially created in the human oesophagus." Snape visibly shuddered. Those last two techniques were dark by any measure…

"What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Heri thought Hermione was going to combust if she didn't get to answer a question soon, so kept his answer short.

"Branding." At the questioning look from Snape he continued. "The preferred aconite tea in our house is monkshood, but to each their own." He saw Snape was about to say something else but spoke first. "Professor, as much as I appreciate the personal attention, do ask Hermione a few question too." Snape held back a scowl as he turned to head back to the front of the room.

"I don't accept cheek in my classroom, Addams."

"Oh, I meant nothing of the sort, Professor. I truly believe she would enjoy it and would hate to steal all her fun!" Heri replied and Snape had to take a deep breath. The child was surely giving him cheek, but he sounded sincere…

Soon enough Snape's attention was back on the class as a whole and he set them to brewing a cure for boils. Heri's eyes followed Snape around the room, snacking absently on the dried nettles as he corrected and berated student after student. The man was very amusing and Heri took the opportunity to study the Gryffindors as well. Neville seemed the most nervous around their potions master and he thought maybe the boy had a crush. How sweet. The youngest Weasley boy seemed easy to provoke and very expressive; he turned the most wonderful shade of red when angered. He seemed to have formed an attachment to Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan, but Heri thought he could do better as far as friends went. Those two didn't seem to appreciate their education at all and at least Weasley had the decency to look embarrassed about his shortcomings – that could only indicate a desire to do better. He decided that none of the others were worth his time. Even the Gryffindor half of the Patil twins failed to hold his interest as the girls' magic wasn't identical like the Weasley twins and he would much rather experiment on them.

When Snape reached Heri's table, he had demanded an explanation as to why Herido hadn't even made a start on his potion yet. When Heri replied that he couldn't understand why anyone would want a _cure_ for boils, Snape pinched his nose and carefully explained that the boy simply had to do it as part of the curriculum. He was glad to see this was enough to make the boy get to work and not at all surprised when he handed him a near perfect potion at the end of class, even though he'd had half the time to brew it as the other students.

Other than classes, Heri had spent the week exploring the school and learning more about his new friends. The room the Baron had shown him his first night was proving endlessly fascinating and Heri just couldn't work out the magic behind it. Draco was beginning to come out of his shell a lot more, thank the darkness. He was strutting around the castle like he owned it and had started becoming freer in his speech around Heri and Hermione. Blaise was still very cautious, but at least wasn't sycophantic, and after Daphne had taken to hanging around Hermione, she seemed to be mellowing out a little; engaging the girl in idle conversation and helping her avoid the more obvious social faux pas. The blonde was a little flighty, overly concerned with fashion and appearance and generally disinterested in anything she deemed beneath her. Heri welcomed her into his little group – variety was the spice of life after all and she had done well enough in class so far, so she must have had something deeper about her.

Peeves the Poltergeist had seemed happy to show everyone that he didn't feel the need to be as cautious around Heri as the other ghosts. That was until Herido demonstrated that, just as Peeves had the ability to interact with solid objects, Heri had the ability to make solid objects interact with him! Peeves was a lot more respectful after he'd nearly lost an arm trying to throw paint bombs at the first year Slytherins.

When Saturday night finally came around Heri informed Hermione that she would have to wait up a while. He needed Kounna and he didn't yet trust the first year girls not to do anything stupid to Hermione without the snake there to guard her. After he'd refused to give an answer as to what he needed Kounna for, she simply gave her assent and promised to wait in the common room.

When the boys had finally retired to their beds, Heri drew the drapes around his bed and cast and released (some had been prepared for him), every precaution he could think of, as he did every night. If anyone tried to open them, they could suffer from any number of curses, from losing a hand to immolation to simply being knocked unconscious. However, for what he was about to do, he felt more comfortable having Kounna there to protect him – just in case. This would be the most vulnerable he'd ever been whilst at school after all.

Once he'd triple checked his precautions, he lay down on his bed, waited for midnight and drank the potion that would separate his spirit from his body for exactly one hour. He only had a few seconds to look down at his body before he was yanked violently through plains of existence he would never understand and found himself in the summoning circle at 0001 Cemetery Lane, joined by his brother and surrounded by the rest of his family.

"Children!" His father exclaimed as though he'd not seen his sons for years. "How's school? Herido, what's Hogwarts like? Is it as terribly light as Ilvermorny? Pugsley, did they agree to let you back in Arithmancy? Oh, boys, you missed the most wonderful picnic! A hurricane! And Uncle Fester brought down the city electrical grid again when he…" He was cut off by Morticia, while Heri just looked on fondly.

"Gomez." She stoked his face to keep his attention. "You must let the children answer." He shivered.

"Oh Tish, when you stoke my cheek like that…" He closed his eyes.

"We'll have plenty of time for that later, Bubele." Gomez took her arm and immediately began giving it his attention.

"Gomez it just slipped out. Now control yourself…"

Wednesday took advantage of their parents' distraction, ignoring the sounds of Morticia trying to calm Gomez down.

"If I broke the circle, would you two be trapped here?" She asked as she edged her way to the nearest candle, ready to knock it over. Heri just rolled his eyes.

"We already tried that in Pugsley's first year, don't you remember? It just sent him back to his body sooner than planned." He sounded a little miffed about this. They had been trying to permanently separate their brother's body and spirit.

After a brief catch up, he turned his attention to Grandmamma and asked her about Binns and his difficulty wielding his wand. After a little discussion, it was decided that Morticia would get in touch with the Hogwarts School Board and see about getting BInns replaced and Grandmamma reprimanded Heri for trying to force his will through his wand. He was to trust his instincts and allow himself to work _with_ the wand and stop viewing it as something that was taking control away from him.

The Hour ended with much emotional drama (mostly from Gomez), and they agreed to meet again next week.

It took a few minutes for Herido to stop feeling as though the room were spinning once he was safely back in his body. Then he thanked Kounna and headed out to meet Hermione. Time to find out what she would make of a little torture.

He led her to the Room of Requirement and into a heavily warded ritual room. Inside, she spied a small deer and started to get a funny feeling. She already didn't like where this was going.

She watched with mounting dread as he handed her a jade encrusted dagger, smeared what she dearly hoped wasn't the remains of Flint spit on her forehead and then set out a ritual she didn't recognise in the least. Once he led the deer to her and nodded his head though, she hesitated.

"What is it? You already sacrificed that predator from your school and he was a human being?"

"It's just…" She paused. He wouldn't understand would he? "It's just… " She bit her lip and couldn't make herself look at the deer. "Have you ever seen Bambi?" He gave her a blank stare and shook his head. "Right, of course not." She steeled herself. He was right, she'd killed a man and that had to be worse than this… but still… In one now-or-never motion, she slit the animal's throat, allowing the blood to coat the circle in which they stood and promising herself that she would never think about the deer again!

Heri walked to her and took her hand.

"No matter what happens now, no matter what you see or how you feel about it, you cannot let go of my hand! You don't have any mental arts training and if you do… well you won't be coming back here. Understand?" She was a bit freaked out at the suggestion that, well, what was he suggesting? That she could get lost somewhere in her mind? In his mind?

"I understand." She replied seriously and took a fierce grip of his hand.

"Ok close your eyes." He whispered another word she couldn't quite catch and only a second later bid her open them again.

When she did, she found herself and Herido standing in a large room, dank like a basement and full to the brim with medieval looking torture devises. For a moment she couldn't think.

"It's old." She managed to stumble out eventually. She heard Heri give a laugh, but couldn't turn away from her perusal of each object. Some she recognised, such as the rack, a bed of nails, a Judas cradle, a Catherine wheel, a crucifix… she placed a hand to her mouth… there were so many more items in the room that she didn't recognise and she felt disgusted. Most of her disgust originated from her curiosity about what they were, but she wouldn't be admitting that anytime soon.

"I was always taught that torture is a delicate balance between the physical and psychological. These older tools tend to induce more fear and terrified anticipation in the victim, and they don't perform too poorly on the physical front either." He studied her reaction as he spoke in measured, calming tones. He knew that her accepting blood and sacrificial magic would have already started to make her more amenable to the idea of torture, but he had no way of knowing how far she'd come. She looked terrified, and he wondered for a moment if she thought he had brought her here to punish her - for what he couldn't imagine. "You can leave now." He reassured her. "You asked what had become of Flint, but maybe this room is answer enough?"

She took a deep breath and looked at him. His hand was starting to turn white from the intensity with which she was holding onto it. She didn't answer his question. If she had to voice an answer, she feared she would ask him to take her back.

"Do you actually know how to use all of this?" Her voice was shaky.

"Of course. This is almost an exact replica of our playroom back home." She looked at him like she thought he was mad, so he continued. "These stocks, for example, were a gift for Wednesday's fifth birthday." He was trying to be calming, but now she was starting to look even worse. "There is a fine line between pleasure and pain you know. And, for example, between a good stretch and torn muscles and dislocations…" He could see he'd lost her with that line of thought, but carried on regardless, not sure what else to do. "The rack can do wonders for a bad back, if used in moderation…" He was glad to notice that she at least hadn't looked away from him, nor had she tried to pull her hand free once.

"Thi…this is where Flint is? Where is this… here?" She tried.

Heri looked about for a moment in confusion as he answered the second part of her question.

"We are in Flint's mind. But don't let that fool you. Most bodily functions are processed in the brain. Pain is one of those things. I assure you that everything that happened to him here is as real as that deer you killed." She scowled at him and he smiled. He was trying to make her feel better, so scowling was an improvement. "However, when he wakes up this will all be like a vivid, realistic dream. This is actually one of my favourite spells; it produces the same mental scars as torture, but with no physical evidence. Very handy indeed." And Hermione could tell that he really was pleased to have been able to use this spell.

"Can you do this to anyone?" She asked. She may have lost her innocence, may have become a shadowed mockery of the young girl she was at the beginning of summer, but she did not like the idea of people being able to control another person's mind. What if someone did it to her? If she lost her mind what would she be?

"No, the offering, that is, the body part or substance has to be given willingly in order for this ritual to work. However, there are other ways of influencing a person's mind. I just can't use them properly yet."

Well, Hermione certainly knew she would be learning the mental arts soon, if only to protect herself!

All these thoughts flew from her mind at Heri's next actions.

"Hmm, where did I leave him?" He stepped forward, taking her with him. "Ah, yes." He waved a hand and a second later the Iron Maiden on the far wall flew open. A person, she assumed to be Flint fell out. He was covered in major bruising, swelling, cuts and burns. The muscles in his legs had long since grown weak in an effort to keep him upright and he fell to his hands and knees before them, trying to gather a clear breath for the first time in who knows how long.

Hermione dragged her eyes away from the boy and looked in desperation to Herido Addams as if seeing him for the first time. Maybe, she thought, this was the first time she'd seen the real him. Had she been naïve in trusting this boy?

Heri saw the look of uncertainty in her eyes as she looked at him and didn't like it one bit. He'd grown quite fond of his little muggleborn friend.

His eyes narrowed on her.

"Look at him, Hermione!" He commanded, his tone only a little sharper than usual. She reluctantly drew her attention to the cowering mess before her. "This is where he thinks you belong! Where he thinks your parents belong! In pain, cowering, helpless and humiliated at his feet!" She was trembling, but didn't look away from the boy.

"And this is where you think he belongs?" Her voice was quiet, but didn't waiver once.

"Or course," he replied with a smile, tilting her face to look at him, "He insulted me and my friend. Do you think he deserves anything more?" He let her stare at him for a few minutes. He could see the cogs turning in her brain.

Hermione knew that a rather large part of her was glad to see the boy who would deny her the right to magic, on his knees before her; she just didn't know what that made her. Heri seemed completely comfortable with the situation. Maybe he was used to people cowering at his feet?

"Flint!" Heri's voice was suddenly so hard that even Hermione flinched at the sound. It was not a tone any eleven year old should be able to wield. "Does Hermione deserve her place at Hogwarts?" Hermione looked down to hear the boy's answer.

"Y, yes, s of, of course." He managed.

"What of her place in Slytherin?" Again that tone.

"S, Slytherin is h, honoured to, to have her!" Flint sounded a little desperate in his declaration, but Hermione was pleased with it all the same.

"And her place in general?" Heri was wearing that evil smile again. He lifted the older boy's chin with his shoe so that she could see his eyes as he spoke.

"A, above me!" Heri continued to smile. He'd taught the boy well. He couldn't wait to update Wednesday on his progress.

Hermione couldn't deny the thrill she got from hearing those words and from knowing that her friend had made this happen, partly for her. Meeting Herido Addams was probably the best and most important thing she had ever done. Who knows how school would have gone without him, never mind her life in general.

She looked at Heri and gave a small smile.

"Well, Hermione, I think he's learned his lesson. Shall we return him?"

Her eyes flickered down to Flint once more before she spoke.

"Well," she started, unsure if her nerve would hold, "maybe you could show me how to use just one of these… things before we go back?"

She really did surprise him every single time, Heri thought.

It was late on Sunday morning when Marcus Flint woke in his bed in St. Mungo's; shaking, sweating and crying out for his mother.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **And thank you so, so much for your reviews. You have no idea how much they mean to me :) Especially people who have been reading for a while like .9, frankieu and DarkRavie as well as those who've left reviews more recently. xx**

 **Frankieu: using cats? xx**


	7. Chapter 7

Professor Quirrell watched Addams closely as he had done for the last month. The boy was an enigma. His master had assured him that the child was as dark as they come, but he so often acted contrary to any dark wizard he knew. Still, he would never dare question his Master, and even he could feel a sense of unease from the boy. But he had only glimpsed a darker side to his character a few times, usually when confronted by another student. He hadn't done anything per se, but Quirrell had recognised that look in his eyes, and knew it was one followed by pain.

But the rest of the time Addams was polite and charming. In today's class, for example, he had already aced the Knockback Jinx the class had been tasked with and was now helping many of his fellow Slytherins, well his friends at least. He could see him correcting wand movement and advising on the proper intonation of _Flipendo_.

Voldemort had told Quirrell that the boy's charming, helpful nature was merely a façade, a mask that he was using to hide behind. It made sense and Voldemort himself had employed the same tactic whilst at school. However Addams seemed to actually enjoy the company of a few of his so-called friends, something he had never done. And then there were the rumours that he had something to do with the Flint situation. And that was endlessly frustrating because that's all it was: rumour! It seemed that trying to learn anything about the Addams family was like trying to catch smoke with a butterfly net! All anyone knew for certain was that Flint had fallen into a nightmare filled coma on his first night back at Hogwarts and it had lasted an entire week. It wasn't a stretch to suggest he had been the victim of a curse, but there was absolutely no evidence that pointed to Addams as the culprit. Dumbledore himself had checked and was sure Herido Addams hadn't entered Flint's dormitory, nor had he had any obvious opportunity to poison him. But it was common knowledge that the two had had an altercation and no one really had any doubt that Addams could have enough tricks up his sleeve to pull something like this off.

He was planning to have Quirrell find out the truth of the boy, but it would be difficult behind the guise of concerned teacher.

As ordered, the professor called for Heri to stay behind after class.

"Yes, Professor?" He asked, as polite as ever. The perfect little noble. Quirrell gestured to the seat by his desk and sat in his own chair.

"M-Mr Addams, how are y-you finding your cl-classes?" He was already a bit of a nervous soul, but he was more anxious that he wouldn't get anywhere with this famed boy and therefore anger his Master.

"Most interesting. I find this new type of magic fascinating, and imagine it can be endlessly beneficial." Heri glanced down to his teacher's left arm, hoping he might be able convince him to show his Mark.

"Y-yes ind-deed. I'm a-a l-little worried that y-you are f-f-f-inding my classes t-too easy. I h-hope you don't t-take offense w-when I say that I'm a l-little sur-surprised at how w-well you a-are t-taking to light magic, h-having c-come from a f-f-family such as yours." The knowing smile that broke out on Heri's face wasn't comforting in the least.

"You mean you're surprised a dark wizard would take so easily to light magic?" Heri scoffed and Quirrell looked a little scandalised that he had admitted to being dark so freely. Even if it was already the common consensus, you couldn't go around boasting about it! "I'm surprised at you, Professor. Surely you know that magic is magic, and that it's foolishness to restrict yourself because of silly labels." Quirrell gave the questioning glance, as was expected of a Hogwarts teacher, but Heri continued. "If you truly feel as you say, then I can return your observation: I'm surprised a dark wizard such as yourself could cast light magic so easily!" Quirrell didn't know whether he should be pleased at how the conversation was going or very concerned.

"Wh-what d-d-do y-y..."

"Please, let's not pretend when it's just the two of us. I know all about your association with Lord Voldemort." Quirrell's whole demeanour changed after that. He still looked nervous, but there was steel in his eyes that hadn't been there a moment ago. He took out his wand and quickly cast several privacy charms.

"What do you know?" He demanded. If they'd been found out his Master would be furious. He flinched at the thought.

"Oh, nothing really. Merely that you serve the man. I can see his magic tethered to your own, in the same way it's tethered to Snape." Well, that's what he thought he could see at least. He couldn't be that far off.

"You, you can see? What do you see? Wait, this means you have Magical Sight. The last person known to have that was…"

"Lord Voldemort." Heri finished for him. He couldn't understand why Quirrell would be so concerned about a self-confessed dark wizard knowing of his association. The man must actually just be the nervous type. "Yes, I know. I probably know all there is to know about the Dark Lord. It's a little embarrassing now, but I was quite obsessed with the man when I was little. You could say he was my idol. I used to talk about him so much that my little sister developed the most adorable crush on him when she was six. Oh, but don't tell her I told you! She'd skin me alive." Heri looked off fondly. "You too." He added as an aside.

Voldemort had to stop himself from letting out a mad cackle! It wouldn't do for a Dark Lord to cackle… but this was wonderful news. If the child already had the proper respect for him, it would surely be all too easy to bring him on side.

"And what do you feel about the Dark Lord now?" Quirrell ventured. Heri shrugged.

"I honestly don't know what to make of him!" He rubbed his forehead over the shield of his fringe. "On the surface he seems like a powerful and competent enough wizard, and he surely knows how to have fun! But a lot of things about him don't make sense to me, although maybe that's just because I was raised in America. I understand the wish to be separate from Muggles, but demonising muggleborns is crazy." Heri was hopeful that this man could explain the Dark Lord's bizarre behaviour.

"Ah, yes. I'm aware that blood purity isn't an issue in America – at least not like it is here. Is that why you're so comfortable with the Granger girl?" He sneered a little as he spoke her name. The cat was out of the bag, well it was the wrong cat, as Quirrell's situation wasn't like Snape's at all, but still, there was no sense in pretending now. It would probably only serve to annoy the boy.

"Hermione Granger might just turn out to be the greatest witch of my generation. Well, the greatest English witch… I could never compare her to my dear sister, if for no other reason than she gets frightfully competitive and I don't think Hermione would survive that." The smile on Herido's face spoke of an inside joke that Quirrell didn't think he wanted to know, so he let that statement lie.

"Surely you can't believe that a Mudblood girl could prove better than the many Pure-Bloods we have at this school." Heri's eyes narrowed at his professor's causal use of that swear word. As a speaker of many languages, he knew that words were not simply intoned sounds. No, those sounds represented something specific and that particular word was meant as a most nasty insult. Heri would not see anyone that he had declared worthy insulted. He felt it was an extension of the Addams Honour. He was about to berate the man about it, when he decided to take a different approach.

"Do any of the Pure-blooded first years achieve better results than Hermione? Or, for example, can any of them use the strength of their magic to bind another person's?" Quirrell didn't understand the implications of this question, but Voldemort did: it meant that at the very least the girl had a considerable magical core and was dark – darker (in the technical, mechanical sense), than he had been at eleven! Heri was taking a risk in exposing the girl in this way. As a 'light' teacher at Hogwarts, Quirrell could see to it that she was arrested with this information.

"So you think _muggleborns_ are equal to other wizards? Next you will be saying the same of muggles and magical creatures." The teacher said with disgust.

"Not equal, I imagine. But not 'better' either!" The man looked aghast at this so he continued. "Wizards, no matter their birth, are able to do things that muggles cannot: this makes wizards stronger than them, _luckier_ than them! But they can use other means to achieve similar results, whereas wizards rest on their laurels and don't pay attention to what the muggles are able to do."

"And why should they?!" Quirrell asked, unable to hold his tongue at such a ridiculous reasoning. "Name one reason why we should seek to learn from muggles!"

"One reason? How about the microprocessor? If you believe that knowledge is power, then surely you must recognise that the muggles being able to access any knowledge they wish in less than a second makes them powerful. As does their ability to communicate immediately and their ability to destroy this entire planet with the click of a button! No wizard, not even Lord Voldemort, has that kind of power!"

"And all that merely shows what a danger muggles are! They should be eradicated. Exterminated like the parasites they are! The means they use to accomplish the same as wizards destroys other humans and the very planet itself!"

Heri couldn't deny the professor's words. But he also couldn't tell him that one of the main reasons he tolerated muggles, was because they were endlessly amusing and creative. He didn't think the 'how could we live in a world without Shakespeare, Van Gogh and Freddy Mercury?' argument would work with this fanatic.

"Perhaps we could continue this conversation another time, Professor? I'm most interested in hearing about Lord Voldemort's ideals." Heri needed time to think; otherwise the conversation would just circle back around again and again.

"Very well." Quirrell thought he had achieved enough in this first encounter to please his master. "But before you go, I feel the need to warn you: Snape is not at all similar to me and I would not be as open with him as you have been with me." Heri nodded his understanding.

"I have pondered as to why he turned traitor. He's so obviously a dark wizard…" He just shrugged and bid the professor goodbye.

* * *

It was announced that the first years were to attend flying lessons. It seemed nonsensical to Heri that the class was compulsory; after all, surely many of these students had been flying since they were old enough to hold onto a broom for dear life.

When they were directed to summon their broom, Heri's leapt into his hand immediately, but quivered slightly until he rubbed his thumb over the handle in a comforting gesture – he meant the item no harm, at least not right now.

Draco and Blaise also had no trouble, obviously being familiar with the action. Daphne hesitated, looking down at her own broom with disgust, until she eventually called it to her, resigned to having to handle the inferior piece of wood.

Hermione was having a little more trouble with her own broom and soon looked up to the others for help. Heri just gave her a flat look, but she seemed to interpret it well enough. After everything she'd done, she was certainly not going to be disobeyed by an enchanted object. She glared down at the stationary broom.

"Up!" She spoke in a sharp, clipped voice and the broom flew up, smacking into her palm with force and causing her to let out a hiss of pain. Blaise gave her a questioning look when he heard it, but she just shook her head. She'd accomplished what was required of her and that was enough for now.

Heri was surprised to notice that Weasley seemed to be having a lot of trouble with the simple task. Surely a child from such an old family was familiar with riding a broom? He'd overheard him chatting excitedly about Quidditch Leagues often enough. After he had finally summoned and mounted it, Weasley looked a lot more comfortable. Heri really wanted to see both Weasley and Neville brought out of their shells.

Neville it seemed would require a lot more work than Ron. Either that or he had fondness for danger that Heri hadn't noticed before. It only took the boy mounting his broom once to set off in a death defying accident and break his wrist. Very interesting, Heri thought, a lack of care for personal safety could be very useful.

Heri watched silently as the Slytherins and Gryffindors exchanged opinions on the comedic value of the Longbottom heir's accident. He could see Ron turning that lovely shade of red once again as Draco insulted him.

In the last few weeks, Draco's actions had revealed that one of his favourite pastimes was putting down those he thought beneath him. Heri could respect this, but thought the boy was a little too gauche in his methods. Often he came across more like a bully than the heir to one of the most influential families in Britain. Still, it didn't affect him, and Heri wasn't one to deny people their fun usually, but he realised that intervening here could give him an in with both Longbottom and Weasley.

While Heri had been assessing the situation, Ron had followed Draco into the air in an effort to retrieve the Remembrall Neville had dropped.

"Draco, come back here! Didn't you hear what Madam Hooch said…" Hermione was calling with no effect.

"Don't worry, 'Mione, I'll get them both back safe on solid ground." And with that said, Heri took off. Hermione actually threw her hands up in the air,

"Boys!" She exclaimed, feeling utterly infuriated and at her wits end with the lot of them.

Heri reached the other two just in time to see Draco throw the ball as far as he could, no doubt set on breaking it and then blaming Ron for not being good enough to catch it. He summoned it back before Draco could blink and called out to him.

Draco froze at hearing Heri. He had been so caught up in teasing Weasley that he hadn't even noticed him approach. He turned to find him holding the Remembrall he'd just thrown in the opposite direction.

"Really, Draco. You don't want to get into trouble do you?" Something about Heri's chiding tone set alarm bells ringing in Draco's head, so he just shook his head and made his way back to the others.

Ron swooped down in front of Heri.

"Give that back, Addams!" He called, looking more than a little confused.

"Certainly." He replied, tossing it to the Weasley boy. "You must forgive Draco. Sometimes he forgets that not everyone has his sense of humour."

"Sense of…" Ron said in disbelief. "What's you game?" He challenged.

"Oh, I enjoy a great many games. But perhaps you could answer my question, Ronald? Why do you act as though you are unsure of your ability, when, coming from a family such as yours, you must have at least a basic understanding of the things we're learning at this school?" Ron froze at the question. It was certainly not what he'd been expecting when confronting Herido Addams. His parents had written him to stay as far away from the boy as possible, and so far he had been able to heed their advice. But the dark boy spoke as though he thought Ron capable of more than he'd shown.

"Wha, I, just because I come from an old family doesn't mean I'm better than anyone else!" Ron's declaration was a confident but indoctrinated response, and Heri just rolled his eyes.

"Don't you think it should? At a school dedicated to the education of wizards, surely you should have an advantage over students like Hermione?" Ron scowled at the comparison, but was slowing turning the shade of red that told Heri he was embarrassed.

"I'm sure all you slimy snakes cheat in class, and besides she's just an annoying know-it-all!" Heri want to kick the boy: that didn't even make sense. There was only so much he could do… He took a deep breath and closed his eyes in an effort not to knock him off his broom. Ron would obviously needed a softly, softly approach and Heri didn't think he had the patience for it.

"Ron," He started with a personal effort he thought he should be applauded for, "Why are you so reluctant to embrace your worth? There is nothing _wrong_ with accepting you have an advantage and playing to your strength." The scowl on Ron's face hadn't diminished and he was staring Heri down with guarded suspicion - must be that foolish Gryffindor bravery.

The sharp angry voice of Snape cut through his thoughts:

"Addams, Weasley! Get down here! Immediately!"

"Just a moment, Professor." Heri's voice was soft, but somehow easily carried to those waiting below. His eyes never left the ginger boy's. Ron was stunned when no further comment came from the fearsome Potions Master. "You know what I think, Ronald?" Heri began. He was employing a mild form of muggle hypnosis to cut through some of the indoctrination, but he had to be careful because he wasn't at all skilled in hypnosis – not like his mother. The only reason he thought he might get away with it with Ron was because the boy was just so emotional. "I think you resent that you are so overshadowed by your siblings. Even I noticed the twins long before I noticed you." Ron was annoyed by the suggestion his bothers might be better than him, but was also secretly rejoicing that a person as respected and famed as Addams thought he was worth notice. "But I think that, that is only because you allow yourself to be. You have just as much potential as them, and maybe more. They have a taste for sadism that is welcomed, but I see in you anger, resentment, jealously and most importantly, an aggression that could be so powerful, if only you embraced it!"

Ron felt himself being draw along with the words. Why shouldn't he use the power and advantages he had? It wasn't like even his parents refused their own advantages – they used magic even though muggles didn't have it, didn't they? All of his brothers enthusiastically accepted their own strengths, but at some point Ron had simply given up trying to be special in any way.

Heri let the boy think for a few moments and then, seed sown, he descended. He would see if this conversation led anywhere. If it did not, he wouldn't be wasting any more time on him.

He returned to the ground to find Madam Hooch and Professor Snape waiting for him, Hermione was still whispering rebukes to Draco and everyone else was wondering what on earth was going on.

"Addams! Follow me!" Snape demanded in a tone all too forceful for Heri's liking. Apparently he was in trouble for disregarding Madam Hooch's instructions. He had to take a short moment to stop himself reacting to the demand, before he followed.

Once he was sequestered into Snape's office he ignored the man's words – doubtless a reprimand of some sort, as though the man actually had an ounce of authority over him – and instead tried to focus his own magic on that of his Head of House's Dark Mark. It was something he had wanted to do since the time he'd found out about it.

"…with your reputation should take more care in… "Snape was going on when he stopped to clasp his left arm, bending over slightly in pain as the mark that had been dormant for so many years started to burn.

Heri couldn't hide his grin. So the mark was, what, interactive? That Voldemort!

Snape sneered at the self-satisfied look on the boy's face.

"Is everything ok, Professor?" Heri asked all too innocently. Snape had the urge to hex him, but quickly shoved the feeling down. It wouldn't do to hex a student, never mind an Addams, and besides, if he wanted anything from the boy, he'd have to play nice. Well, nicer than hexes. He took a calming breath, still holding on to his arm. Part of his soul was frozen at the thought that Voldemort was back, but the winning part of his reasoning assured him that this was surely down to the infernal boy.

"Addams, this country is very sensitive to even the smallest mention of the Dark Sect. You seem to be wilfully ignorant to this. If you could employ a little tact..." Heri went back to ignoring him. The Professor had no idea just how much tact and self-control Heri was using. Instead he experimented with how much he could make the Dark Mark react to his magic. He was only able to enjoy the wincing and scowling of Snape for a short time before it became apparent that his professor would not rise to the obvious baiting. Heri took to looking around the room, in what an onlooker would interpret as an overly disinterested and petulant manner. His eyes were drawn to a half hidden newspaper, old if the discolouration was anything to go by, and blazing a headline that was obviously to do with Harry Potter's disappearance.

"Catching up on the news, Professor?" He interrupted the man's words, indicating to the article.

Snape quickly pulled a pile of student essays to cover the paper, regarding Addams with the suspicion that had kept him alive for so long.

"If you could pay attention, Addams! I would expect someone of your breeding to be able to pay attention for at least…"

"Breeding is such a callous word." He replied, though mostly to himself. "But regardless, does the hero worship really go this far?" He drew attention once more to the 'late' Harry Potter.

"I can assure you that there is no hero worship," the disgust at such a thought was obviously displayed on Snape's face. Heri raised an eyebrow. "This is none of your business, and if you are determined to ignore my advice, you are dismissed. Detention with Filch!" Heri had gone from casual curiosity to genuine intrigue because of the defensive tone.

"Very well." He'd been looking forward to playing with Filch anyway.

* * *

"What did you say to Weasley? He was unusually subdued after the incident earlier." The small group of Slytherins were lazing in front of the fireplace on the common room. Well, most of them were; Hermione was going through Blaise's Charms homework with red ink. They'd all given up trying to stop the annoying behaviour – it was a fruitless endeavour.

Heri looked up at Draco's question.

"I merely pointed out that he was wasting his potential."

"The same as with Neville, right?" Hermione didn't even look up as she made sweeping marks with her quill, blowing a strand of hair out of her face as she worked. Draco scoffed.

"I can't see what you see in either of them. A weasel and a baboon?"

"I no naka no kawasu taikai wo shirazu." At the annoyed look from the others Heri spoke in English, resenting the limitations his friends placed on him; not everything could be adequately expressed in English. "Unfortunately Draco, you still view the world only through the narrow tunnel of indoctrination."

"Ima ga, Dracokun wa baka desu ne" Hermione spoke. Her Japanese was poor but she was trying hard to learn.

"Draco-kun what?" Draco asked, offended already, even though he had no idea what she'd said.

Hermione just smiled at him, pulling a piece of hair behind her ear – the same piece that was constantly blocking her view.

"That's it!" Daphne broke clean through the mood in an exasperated outcry. Everyone looked to her. "Hermione, I'm going to give you a makeover and teach you how to manage… that." She declared with a slight mania in her eyes.

"What? No, I prefer to leave things natural. Natural is always best!" Hermione returned confidently.

"Like tapeworm!" Heri couldn't deny that Daphne had skill – completely destroying an argument with two sarcastic words. Hermione frowned. Okay, she had to concede that maybe nature wasn't always best. Maybe she should hear the girl out. She'd been very nice to her since the start of school, and Hermione was pleased to have a girl to talk to, someone who understood her frustration with the boys. It was nice.

"OK." She said hesitantly, not entirely sure what she was agreeing to, but hoping it was be worth the trepidation she felt.

* * *

 **I apologise for the delay. Work is crazy at the moment, but I'm planning to have another chapter up soon!**

 **I no naka no kawasu taikai wo shirazu: a frog in a well does not know the great sea. (People view the world according to their own narrow range of experience).**

 **Ima ga, Dracokun wa baka desu ne: Hermione is trying to say 'you mean Draco is an idiot, right.'**


	8. Chapter 8

Herido and his friends left the Slytherin common room at a quarter to midnight. It was just the five of them. Everyone agreed that five students wandering around at night was a big enough target and there was no need to add the two brick walls that were Crabbe and Goyle into the mix.

After dinner Heri had declared, quite out of the blue, that he'd received a care package and was going out tonight for a picnic. Eventually everyone had agreed to go along, although Hermione was adamant she was only there to keep them quiet and undiscovered.

"Tell me again why you think midnight is an acceptable time for a picnic. In October no less!" Daphne cried as she pulled her two thick velvet robes tighter. She looks rather comical in Heri's opinion and at least twice her size.

"Oh, I just feel I haven't been able to appreciate the night since I got here. A little moonlight is good for you."

"But pneumonia isn't!" Daphne gripped, pulling her scarf tighter with every step closer to the doors. Heri just smiled. He didn't think she'd appreciate him pointing out some of the pleasant side effects of having difficulty breathing and the interesting things a lack of oxygen does to the brain. The hallucinations alone were worth any pesky risk of permanent damage.

They had almost made it to the front doors when they heard the gruff voice of Filch talking to his cat. Heri broke into a grin. He hadn't yet had chance to spend any quality time with the caretaker. Two professors had turned up to supervise his detention with the man; apparently they were concerned about leaving a squib with Herido. To be fair to the faculty, they were right to be worried.

Maybe now he could have some fun.

Heri didn't notice his friends hurriedly leaving the entrance hall until he felt the steel grip of Hermione grab his wrist, attempting to drag him away and out of slight.

"Wait. We should make the most of…" She glared at him with an intensity that made him wonder, not for the first time, whether she'd been taking lessons from Wednesday.

"Herido Addams I agreed to go along with this midnight picnic madness, but if you get me expelled then powerful wizard or not I will skin you alive!" For a moment he absolutely believed her. "Even if I die in the process!" She radiated conviction and he acquiesced to being dragged along after the others. He didn't want to discourage her after all.

* * *

With every step into the castle, Heri felt his annoyance grow. They had all run quite a distance from the doors, but had still been discovered by Peeves, who threatened to report them until Heri in turn threatened to bury the ghost where no one would be able to hear him screaming. Soon after, Peeves agreed to distract Filch so the children could wander at leisure.

Somehow they had ended up near Gryffindor tower and so Heri decided he might as well make the most of what might otherwise be a wasted night, and find a way into the common room. He wouldn't mind exploring the place in which his birth parents had grown and become the people they had. He'd often imagined them walking through the halls, eating together at the Gryffindor table and dreaming of a future they would ultimately sacrifice to war. For all his confidence and self-assurance, James and Lily Potter were a weakness; he was a dark, sadistic being with a sense of superiority and he was completely comfortable with that, but somewhere in his heart, a place deep and secret and hidden, he mourned that he knew those bright young Gryffindors would be devastated with how their son had turned out. Disappointed. That word filled him with an ugly, unpleasant feeling that was worse than any pain.

Heri scowled and clenched his fists – finger nails biting into his palms – in an attempt to shut down those thoughts. It didn't do to dwell on the past, and he felt overwhelmed with good fortune and gratefulness for his family and life as it was now.

He barely felt the feather light touch on his shoulder when he spun round. Within a second he had bound the Longbottom boy's arms with his magic, one hand was fisted in his hair, pulling the boy's head back at an unnatural and surely painful angle and was aiming a kunai mere millimetres from his right eye.

He was fairly outraged with himself that he'd been so wrapped up in his thoughts he hadn't sensed Neville coming up behind him.

"Ahhh!" Was the predictable reaction from Neville. After a second of frozen shock, he started to struggle desperately and Heri released him, pushing him away slightly as he did. He regarded the boy with narrowed eyes. His former thoughts had already put him in a dark mood and now he was frustrated with himself too. He clenched and unclenched a fist.

"I-I-I…" Neville started stammering but was swiftly cut off by the back of Heri's hand connecting sharply with his cheek. Everyone in the hallway froze. They'd never seen him raise a hand to anyone before, and only Hermione had ever seen him physically hurt someone, but not someone as harmless as Neville Longbottom. Most students were cowed by the rumours and mere suggestion of his dark background and the few that had been 'attacked' by him had been so in a way that just created more mystery. There was nothing as direct as this.

Heri took a steadying breath.

"Neville," he began, drawing the rapt attention of everyone present, "Two things: never, ever, sneak up on me; and when someone is holding a blade to your eye, its best to stay as still as possible – you're lucky I have such precise control or you'd now have one eye less!" His voice was carefully measured and set everyone's nerves on edge.

Neville was like a rabbit in headlights, unable to look away from that frustrated gleam in Addams' eyes as he stood hunched over and held his quickly bruising cheek.

"What are you doing out here?" Heri asked.

"I-I-I'm locked out. The Fat Lady isn't in her p-portrait." Heri managed to contain the sigh this time as he contemplated just how hopeless this boy was. He continued to observe him, making Neville squirm under the scrutiny. Maybe he wasn't hopeless…

"Daphne," He spoke softly to the girl, but never turned his eyes away. Daphne felt heavy all of a sudden. She'd started to get used to the Addams boy's dark aura and sense of humour, but she was now reminded how uncomfortable he could make her feel with such little effort. "Neville is the Heir of an old and respected family – a fellow member of the Sacred Twenty Eight, if I'm not mistaken; do you see any of that in him?" Well, that was a subject she was comfortable with!

"No." Neville seemed to shrink even more at the harsh and unyielding judgement. "He displays none of the pride, class or prosperity that are his by birth right!" She'd been asked her opinion and she certainly wasn't afraid to give it, especially on a subject on which she was an authority. "He should be ashamed to be such a poor representative of his family." As she finished she raised her chin, as if to emphasise her conviction.

Hermione looked appalled at what was happening to the meek boy, who now looked like he was about to burst into tears. She made a move to intervene when Draco stopped her with a strong arm and frown. He shook his head and motioned back to the unfolding scene. It seemed to her that all the Pure-Bloods were in agreement here.

Heri turned briefly to smile at Daphne. "I quite agree." Once he turned back, Neville took a step back at the intensity in his eyes. "Stand up straight!" He commanded and Neville obeyed reflexively. "Daphne's right. You present a pathetic image. You are Heir to House Longbottom – for all intents and purposes you are the Head of your House! Do you not feel any pride in that?" At the accusation Neville's face hardened and Heri smiled in response.

"Of course I'm proud! You could never know how much!" It was the first time any of the Slytherins had heard him speak without stuttering.

"Then why don't you stand tall? Why do you allow people without such an esteemed heritage to trample on that pride?" Neville seemed to react to every intonation of Heri's words. He did indeed stand taller, he squared his shoulders, lifted his chin and maintained eye contact with a confidence that, even if it was only temporary, the other Pure-Bloods could respect.

Heri considered the boy for a moment more.

"Take off your robe!" Again the commanding tone that belied his age. He watched in exasperation as Neville started to shrink again, but this time it was tempered by his pride as it warred within his mind. Heri took out his wand. He'd found that just holding a wand could provoke a reaction, usually fear. At this point in his education he could probably do more with a wave of his hand than he could with his wand, but these wizards and witches only knew of wand magic and so never found a raised hand particularly threatening. He was mollified to see Neville's eyes widen in fearful anticipation as he used his wand to lift the boy's chin once more.

"You're hiding behind your robe. Take it off!" His tone left absolutely no room for argument, and the poor boy struggled to comply whilst maintaining a shred of dignity. Heri circled him slowly and as soon as he saw him start to hunch into himself once again, he produced a whip from his wand and brought it down hard against Neville's lower back. "Stand up straight!" He repeated after the yelp. He knew that would leave a nasty mark. Heri didn't give warnings. That was probably something he should work on.

All this gave the desired effect though. The Longbottom Heir looked like a different person. Even though it was under the threat of pain, he stood proud and still had that look of defiance in his eyes from Heri's earlier accusation. It didn't matter to anyone present that they were still children: the Pure-Bloods would always delight in seeing someone embrace their heritage; Neville was revelling in the sudden feeling of acceptance he felt from the refined, influential students and Hermione was just pleased to see him looking stronger.

Neville took a breath and gave Heri a cautious, inquisitive glance.

"What do you want from me?"

The silence around them was deafening.

"Your soul." He replied, his voice quiet in the tense darkness. Neville's eyes bugged in his head and he actually heard gasps from the others. He let out a noise that he would deny under torture was a snort and smiled kindly. "I'm kidding! I just couldn't resist; everyone seemed so serious." He said by way of explanation. The boy relaxed a little, but didn't quite believe Heri was joking. Heri just rolled his eyes. "I want you to achieve your potential and not to be confined by ridiculous prejudice. I want you to believe in yourself and be great" He saw the protests bubbling to the surface, but was saved having to listen to them by a small, sarcastic applause.

"It's about time you showed some backbone, Neville!" Came one cheeky voice, followed immediately by another, identical to the first.

"Heir Longbottom, indeed!" Heri turned with a grin to match those worn by the Weasley twins.

"I wondered if you were going to show yourselves."

"Of course!"

"We were just enjoying the show!"

"Although we think you could have gone further with the whip." The twins jumped quickly away from the whip that cracked lazily in their direction. "Though it was expertly wielded." They added with a carefree joviality that dispersed any tension in the hall. Heri smiled at them as he heard the others laugh at the antics – even Neville.

"If you're done giving lessons in dignity," Started… Heri was 80% sure it was Fred.

"Anybody care to guess what we found…" Continued… George?

"Hidden away..."

"Fierce and snarling..."

"And probably lonely…"

"Locked up…"

"Probably bored to tears..."

"Along the third floor right side corridor?"

Well, Herido was definitely intrigued.

* * *

"So what's being hidden on the third floor?" Heri tired. It wasn't at all tactful to ask outright, but if he wanted answers he was more likely to get them from Quirrell than anyone else.

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about, Mr Addams." The teacher replied in an overly proper way.

"Of course not, Professor." Heri could play this game. "But if there was something hidden there – something guarded by the most adorable three headed dog, what Hermione assures me is Devil's Snare and I imagine a few more ridiculous traps, no doubt intended to slow an intruder down… if there was something, what would it be?" The professor smiled at the child and wondered what he should say, if anything. He worried that if he told the boy about the Stone, he'd want to take it for himself and that would ruin his Master's plans.

"Well, what do you know of Nicolas Flamel?" Heri's reply was instant:

"An interesting man. Brilliant scribe. Father invited him to teach us alchemy, but asked him to leave when he started spouting some rather disturbing views on immortality. It was a shame really. He was actually very knowledgeable." He looked off wistfully and Quirrell looked on in wonder. Nicolas Flamel, the legend, had been recruited to teach the Addams children personally… and let go? It must be true that you just don't refuse an Addams…

"Yes, well," Quirrell tried to recover. Oh, how he'd love to get to know the elder Addams'! "You're a Slytherin. Surely you know that you don't get something for nothing?" He was mostly trying to buy time to think. He had thought it might take the boy a while to research Flamel. Heri just smiled at him knowingly.

"What do you want to know?" Well there were many things he'd been told to find out. He decided to start with something that would seem like natural inquisitiveness.

"What did you do to Flint?"

"I didn't touch him. How is old Marcus, by the way?" He asked with amusement that thoroughly jarred against the subject being discussed.

"He's doing better." At Heri's 'go-on' gesture, he expanded, seeing no harm in it "He was moved to the Psychology Ward almost five weeks ago, but is expected to return to school very soon."

"That's good." Heri nodded, sounding not at all sincere and looking rather pleased with himself.

"Well?" Quirrell pushed.

Heri narrowed his eyes at the wall in contemplation. Was he really willing to risk himself so carelessly? Quirrell saw the cogs turning and sought to put the boy at ease.

"You know of my… connection to The Dark Lord. I cannot use anything you tell me to hurt you." He still wasn't convinced, so Quirrell continued. "And I'm not exactly looking to antagonise your parents in such an obvious way."

Well, Heri felt better at hearing that. It was something he was used to and knew it was fact – this man really didn't want to cross his family, so once again his family's reputation would keep him safe.

"Ok," He started, "I merely… corrected… certain ideas Flint had. To do so I took control of his conscious mind. But I truly never laid a hand on him." Quirrell leaned forward in interest.

"How?" He pushed, but Heri shook his head.

"Quid pro quo, Professor." The quote was obviously wasted on the wizard, but he understood the phrase at least and learned back.

"Ok," He took a deep breath, making a silent prayer that this wouldn't backfire. "Rumour is that someone is out to steal something belonging to the aged alchemist; Dumbledore is trying to keep that item safe here at Hogwarts." Heri thought on this for a moment. He came up blank. He'd have to set Hermione on this. If it was interesting enough he might venture down past the tame (at least he thought so) Devil's Snare.

* * *

During breakfast less than a week later, the morning gossip was proved true as Marcus Flint entered the Great Hall.

It seemed to the teachers that every student present was holding themselves back from accosting the boy with questions. Everyone but Herido Addams, and curiously, Hermione Granger, who continued to have their breakfast between pleasant conversation.

Flint shrank into himself a little with every step he took closer to the Slytherin table. He was greeted kindly by his friends and teammates and returned the pleasantries naturally enough, but paused before the table and looked to Heri with an unsure submissiveness that no one had seem him wear before and added weight to the theory that the Addams boy had done something to him.

Heri only spared his upperclassman the briefest of overtly smug smiles before looking meaningfully to Hermione and then returning to his food.

Flint shifted his gaze to the muggleborn first year and the school watched on with bated breath as the scene unfolded. Nobody really understood what was going on, but everyone was shocked to see the previously arrogant Pure-Blood showing deference to an eleven year old muggleborn.

Hermione considered Flint for moment. She was enjoying this much more than she ever thought she would, but she'd stopped questioning these questionable tendencies she was developing and let him squirm a little. Eventually she smiled.

"Welcome back, Marcus." She sounded friendly, but nobody missed that malevolent look in her eye. Flint let out a shaky breath of relief.

"Thank you, Miss Granger." He was oddly quiet as he spoke, but afterwards took his seat and it only took a few minutes until he was comfortably chatting away with his friends once more.

All the teachers wore almost identical frowns. They didn't know what to make of the Granger girl anymore. There was obviously more to her than the perfect student they'd come to know. Quirrell didn't like it at all.

Draco glanced discreetly across to Pansy. Daphne had shared with the Pure-Blood boys that the dynamic within the girls' dorm hadn't much improved since the start of school. Draco and Blaise had been able to carve a strained but relatively stable relationship with their fellow Slytherins. They of course had the advantage of their family names and previous friendships with many of the students, but they were also respected for being able to get close to Addams, who kept most people at a polite distance. However, Heri was a controversial and divisive figure and those that still resented the boy's arrogance and somewhat liberal opinions directed their frustrations at his two friends. They were all far too unsure about Heri to challenge him directly, especially after the Flint incident.

Pansy was widely regarded as a fool, but she was analysing the situation as much as anyone else. She clearly didn't like the way Flint reacted to Granger. Draco was confused as to what Hermione could possibly be playing at. It was obvious that Herido was helping or even teaching her Dark Arts, so why wasn't she doing anything about the Slytherin girls?

Draco was getting a little fed up with the favouritism Herido showed the Granger girl. She'd even taken to drinking that strange smoking beverage that he was so found of.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sharp scraping sound that could only come from someone rising too quickly from their chair.

As one, the whole student population turned in mild surprise to see the Headmaster standing at his place at the head table, looking a little shocked himself. Following his line of sight the rest of the hall could see why. Heri smiled as he dabbed his mouth with a napkin and rose to greet his parents, who were standing in the doorway taking in the grand room.

Albus was disturbed, though he fought to keep it from showing. The castle's wards hadn't even given the slightest indication that they were being breached – and by such dark wizards too! He could only imagine what these people could be capable of if they'd come with ill intentions. He cringed as he suddenly realised why they were here.

"Darling!" Morticia cried with flourish as she reached the Slytherin table, taking Herido at arm's length and looking at him with such intensity that those around wondered if she was actually assessing his soul.

"Son!" Gomez brought down a heavy hand on his shoulder. "This castle really is something to see!" He leaned in to whisper, "although the people are a little odd, no?" He gave a pointed look around at the students who were all staring. Heri laughed and nodded. Yes, yes they were!

"Mother, Father." Heri greeted with obvious affection. "You remember Hermione?" He started. Morticia gave a warm smile, but her wide, knowing eyes were unnerving.

"Of course, dear! Hermione, I brought you a cutting from Cleopatra. She took to you so well when you visited that I thought she would surely approve of you taking her baby." Hermione greeted the adults and accepted the potted vine with a blush and thanks. Heri then introduced his three pureblood friends and then to everyone's shock, called over the three youngest Weasleys and Neville. The twins just about managed to behave, only once asking to be adopted. Heri watched with interest as Neville did his best to present a dignified front and amusement at the terrified look on Ron's face. He knew that everyone would see it as an honour to be introduced to his parents, but he was really only introducing them so the two could put faces to the names he'd been telling them about since the start of school. He could tell that his father liked the twins.

They all turned as Dumbledore cleared his throat. He'd made his way over to them during the pleasantries. Gomez took one looks at the man's outrageous robes and turned back.

"Son, are you sure you want to stay here?" By the way he spoke anyone would think Heri was being held against his will. Morticia too looked genuinely concerned.

"You know the house just isn't the same with my boys gone."

"And Tilly has been having such a hard time from little Wednesday." Even Heri flinched at that. He was sure his little sister was taking all her frustrations out on his elf. Well, as long as she was still alive, she should probably consider herself lucky, all things considered. He'd see Wednesday kill for less – vindictive little vixen that she was.

"I hope, Mr and Mrs Addams," Dumbledore spoke up for the first time, trying for good-natured-educator even though his instincts were screaming at him to display his power. "that you find our school satisfactory." The Addams' finally gave the headmaster their attention.

"Well, that's really why we're here Mr Dumbledore, although surely you already know that." Gomez said before making his formal introductions.

"We do have concerns about your choice of faculty." Morticia added in a tone that was in no way, shape or form threatening, but somehow still managed to put all the teachers on edge.

"I believe this visit is in regards to Professor Binns, yes?" Albus said to alleviate the fears the other teachers no doubt held. "Perhaps we could discuss this in my office?" He was relieved when the parents agreed and was kicking himself that he hadn't been expedient in replying to their letter concerning this issue.

As soon as they were gone, the hall broke out in conspiratorial whispering. Ron quickly scuppered back to the Gryffindor table, but Neville and the twins joined the others at the Slytherin table and nobody said a damn thing about it.


	9. Chapter 9

Dumbledore made a tour of the way to his office, pointing out various interesting facts about the castle to the very interested Addams'. Once they arrived he offered them tea and treats – they seemed more like liquorice snaps people, and they all finally broached the reason they were here.

"It's nice to have parents so interested in their child's education." He started in an attempt to set a friendly tone. Morticia sat quietly sipping her tea, into which she seemed to have melted her snaps he noticed with half disgust, half intrigue. It was Gomez therefore who answered the aged wizard, though he didn't face him as he did. Instead he stood against loaded shelves, staring with a maniacal grin at the oddly silent Fawkes.

"Why ever should we not?" He asked cheerfully. "If we're to send out children away to school, we should at least ensure they are receiving only the best."

"And we are in agreement that this Binns falls short of that standard." Morticia finished, dunking a drowning Snap into her tea.

"Professor Binns is really a fine teacher with a wealth of experience." Dumbledore was trying to defend the man, but Gomez turned to face him with an expectant smile and raised eyebrow and he felt very uncomfortable. Gomez was obviously still waiting for him to make a point and he felt that to these people, no point he could think of would stand up against their argument that they simply didn't like the ghost. He tried anyway. "And I know his lessons aren't as engaging as some, but history is an academic subject that many students fail to appreciate."

"But our children are simply enchanted with history." Morticia seemed to think he was putting Herido at fault for the teacher's failure Dumbledore noticed whist he also kept one eye on Gomez, who was currently studying a dagger he'd found in the clutter. "There are many ways to make history engaging: first-hand accounts from the dead; trips to important sites; re-enactments." She gave the head teacher a fond smile, one that gave him a chill. "Why, I remember once catching the children as they tried to sneak a teenage runaway into the house to perform a reconstruction of the trial and execution of Marie Antoinette." Dumbledore was righteously horrified at the implication.

"But, you did catch them, you say? And the girl was saved?" Surely no children could be so carefree about murder!

"Of course, old man." The Addams patriarch said to his relief. The man took the cigar from his mouth and cocked his hand to side, as if to say Dumbledore should obviously know better. "Marie Antoinette wasn't a teen when she died!" Right. His relief was short lived.

"Well," He started, wanting suddenly to move this conversation along. "all the same, that sort of approach isn't always practical in a school environment." Not to mention illegal. The parents shared a look. Gomez had yet to stop smiling, but had a sudden feeling of seriousness about him as he stepped up to his wife. He took and kissed her hand and the old man thought they seemed to share some secret communication. After just a moment, Gomez returned to his perusal of the office.

He didn't understand what that was about, but he could tell they weren't finished.

"I will talk with the Professor about his style of teaching." He pre-empted. Morticia strummed her long nails once on his desk, drawing his attention back from the wary eye he was keeping on the other. "And his lesson plans." He added, hoping to come to some sort of compromise. "Cuthbert has been here a long time, he's a good man and he has earned the chance to retain his position."

"Surely by now he's earned his retirement." Gomez countered.

"Gomez, that's a brilliant idea. Perhaps we could introduce him to some of our dearly departed friends, and they could show him all the fun things he's missing out on. Darling you remember that nice Lady Drake, the one with the gorillas. Well, I remember her saying she's been longing for another intellectual to play with." She meant it as a genuine offer, but Dumbledore took it as a silent threat to the ghost.

"I'm sure that won't be necessary." He started with a smile, but went stony faced and let some of his mighty power flare around him as Gomez stepped out of his periphery. The reaction to having his back to the man was instinctual.

"Mr Dumbledore." He looked up to Morticia, but didn't drop his guard. Surely they wouldn't try anything against Dumbledore himself, and in his own territory? It would be a fool's errand… Wouldn't it?

The woman looked concerned.

"I know it can be difficult to criticize a friend, but you mustn't fret so." Did she really believe that was what was making him uncomfortable?!

It took every ounce of self-control he had not to flinch as a heavy hand fell on his shoulder and Mr Addams leaned down to him. He hadn't felt the man approaching and for all his experience and knowledge, he could think of no better way of articulating his feeling about this as being thoroughly 'creeped out'.

"Tell you what, to save any unpleasantness, you give me his picture and I'll send it to my friend Dubois in Haiti. Once he's finished…"

"Gomez, darling, you having spoken to Dubois for years; he might no longer be taking mail orders." He stepped away to finally sit beside his wife and took her hand.

"Always so smart, Tish." He said reverently. Dumbledore certainly felt better at the distance, but was still wary. He was of course confident in his own ability. But from everything he'd seen and heard over the years, the only thing he could say for certain about these people was that they were an unstable variable. If they turned on him for some reason, he wouldn't know whether to expect a physical attack, or for them to leave amicably and then find himself out of a job and stripped of all his titles in a month's time with seemingly no reason.

"I can see you are uncomfortable with this whole thing." Morticia said, trying to be helpful. "So why don't you give us the names and addresses of the Board of Governors and I'll speak to them personally: if his dismissal comes from them, you won't need to feel as though you're betraying a friend." Gomez had that expectant look again as she spoke.

He did some quick calculations. Binns was a good enough fellow, but he was NOT comfortable with being responsible for opening such a direct dialogue between the Addams' and some of the darker members of the Board. The last thing he needed was for them to get involved in Britain's affairs. The consequences would be dire. No, he'd have to sacrifice the ghost and get them back to America and far, far from the upcoming war.

"You know," he sighed out, "I'm starting to see your point…"

* * *

A few days later, Herido finally remembered to ask Hermione about Nicolas Flamel. She'd never even heard of him. That was disappointing and Hermione wasn't completely comfortable with Heri being disappointed with her. She wasn't afraid of him like so many others were, she just hated the thought that she'd let down her first and best true friend. So her current feelings of annoyance were directed at herself and had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Draco had produced the answer straight away.

"Flamel? You've never heard of Flamel? He created the Philosopher's Stone!"

"I've heard of him, I just didn't know he was famous." Heri responded. "What's this stone? Is it dangerous?" It might be worth a look, he thought.

"If you've heard of hi… never mind. The Philosopher's Stone can grant you immortality!" Ok, definitely not something Heri would be interested in then. "Why do you ask?" The blonde was puffed up that he'd bested Hermione.

"Oh, it's nothing really." He responded, feeling cheated out of some great prize. Draco had been ignoring Hermione's glare, but took note when she learned into Heri and the two took to whispering. When they were done, she sat back straight and sent a bright triumphant smirk his way.

"It can also turn any metal into gold." He informed, hoping to tease out something more.

"Ugh, why would you want that? I can't get rid of the gold I have." Daphne opened her mouth to respond to that, but quickly realised it would be pointless. There were just some things she would never understand about the dark boy. She was actually starting to enjoy spending time with their little group. She was already good friends with Draco and Blaise of course, Herido was ok once she'd gotten over the fear that he'd skin her whole family for the smallest slight and Hermione had proven herself to be a competent witch and now that her luscious locks had been tamed she was presentable enough to be seen in public with.

She knew Blaise was the type to just go with the flow and treated the girl fairly, but if the deep scowl was anything to go by, Draco was having more trouble accepting her. She supposed the Malfoys were the epitome of Pure-Blood aristocracy, so she shouldn't have been surprised.

* * *

"Do you think he went mad?" Meeting to talk with Professor Quirrell had become something of a habit for Heri."

"What?! Of course not!" The teacher responded immediately. He wasn't suicidal, nor was he a masochist. "W-why e-ever would y-you ask th-that?" Heri just hmmed.

"It's just" He looked off to the side, "with Halloween coming up, I was wondering about where it all went wrong. He had everything going for him before that night. He was on the rise, had a loyal following that were monetarily, politically and magically powerful and had pretty much cowed most of the country into submission… and then what? He suddenly decides he needs to set off to personally murder a baby? And then there is the whole muggleborn thing…" Quirrell could tell his Master wasn't pleased with the current topic of conversation. His downfall really wasn't his favourite subject.

"Well, he is a great wizard, I'm sure he had his reasons." He relied hoping to move along swiftly.

"I don't know. I think maybe things would have turned out differently if he'd had guidance." Voldemort was temporarily stunned. The boy surely couldn't know of his origins. He reassured himself that Heri was just making assumptions.

"Guidance like you've had, you mean?" Quirrell asked, hoping he might divulge something of his dark training. Heri just smiled.

"Quite. Without my family only Infernus knows where I might have ended up." Both adults were thrown by that. Surely the same could be said of any child without their family. Heri realised his mistake and quickly starting talking again to try and cover it up. "What I mean is… I'm a little different from the rest of my family. And that's fine because we celebrate difference. Father says I have a bit of a superiority complex." He laughed. "And is quite proud that I might just turn out to be the first megalomaniac in the family in over a century." Quirrell found that hard to believe, never mind disturbing. "But if it weren't for my family I'd probably be dead or in jail by now. I don't want them always having to clean up after me so I know I'll have to wait until I'm powerful enough to defeat anyone who gets in my way, before I can truly be myself." He left out that the main reason he was different from his family was that his first five years were spent with the Dursleys. His family thought they were all perfectly normal, but he knew they weren't. He could read the fear or disgust on people's faces when they looked at him. Though they were hard working, none of his family had _had_ to work for anything, never been involuntarily cold or hungry or lost. And most importantly they had never been vulnerable like he had been, never had to put up with being beaten and bullied and treated like they were less than dirt. And he didn't think that any Addams in history had ever felt unloved, or unlovable.

Quirrell was shocked that boy was being so open.

"Are you saying you want to be a Dark Lord?" Heri laughed again, genuinely amused at the suggestion.

"No, not at all! I'm not even sure what that means." He mused. "I'm going to be powerful, and what could be labelled 'dark' I'm sure, but I have no intention of having followers or leading an army or revolution or something. That all seems like a lot of work!" Voldemort thought he sounded sincere, but then again he was only a child: did he even know what he wanted from life?

Wait! Did his host just equate being a megalomaniac with being a Dark Lord? Hmmm, they were going to have to have a little chat about respect.

* * *

Leaving Quirrell's office, Heri ran into Snape as he seemed to float majestically down the hall.

"Addams!" He called, "Another detention with Quirrell?" Heri stopped to regard him, trying once more to interpret that look on Snape's face.

"Not at all, Professor. In fact, you're the only one who's given me one so far…" He cut himself off as he thought about that. Had he really only had one detention? Incredible.

Snape narrowed his eyes. The defence Professor had informed the rest of the faculty that he'd had several detentions with the Addams boy. If that was a cover, then what on Earth were they up to? As he contemplated, Heri caught him off guard.

"Tell me, Professor, why do you look at me like that? With such poorly concealed distain? I'm not aware of ever harming you?" Snape threw his Occlumency shields up a second too late and wanted to kick himself. He had never expected such a strong compulsion to come from a child – even this one.

"You remind me of someone I once knew!" He spat, before turning to stalk away. Later, he would hate the boy for what had just happened, but for now, he was too stunned in realising that he'd spoken the truth: deep in his subconscious, he'd been equating Addams with Potter. It was something he needed to overcome. Sure the boy was arrogant (and was that really why?), but if he started to transfer old enmities to the boy it would end badly… for him.

* * *

On Halloween, Heri was quieter than usual. Hermione guessed he was observing some kind of memorial for his late parents, but nobody else knew what was wrong with him and it made them all more than a little uncomfortable. Heri in a bad mood was scary; they hoped that whatever this was wouldn't be worse.

He'd excused himself from lunch and refused to say where he was going. Draco noted, with growing resentment, Hermione share a brief conversation and hug with him before he left. Why should Hermione be trusted with things when Draco was kept in the dark? It was infuriating.

"Oh, 'Mione, you _have_ to tell us!" Daphne pressed for the tenth time. The swot just shook her head.

"Heri's entitled to his privacy as much as anyone else!"

"But we're all friends, aren't we?" The blonde pressed, knowing how much it meant to Hermione to have a proper girl friend for the first time in her life.

"And Herido shares a room with a bunch of other guys," Blaise added, also dying to know what was going on with their peculiar friend. "believe me, there is no such thing as privacy!"

"Nevertheless," Hermione continued, trying to keep the wolves at bay. Really, why Herido had left her to deal with this she would never understand. She was this close to telling them her parents' bank details just to get them to back off. "There is nothing _wrong_ with Heri and even if there was, if he wanted you to know, you'd already know!" Draco's scowl deepened.

"Oh, yes, and you just love being the only one he's told, don't you?" She was completely taken aback by the hostile tone.

"I… I don't…" She tried, but she wasn't used to this: arguing with friends? And it had come out of nowhere.

"Yes, I suppose you have to have something to make you feel superior." She just stared, mouth open in confusion.

"Draco, back off…" Blaise cautioned, but he was seeing red. He wasn't used to being the one out of loop, and most definitely didn't appreciate feeling inferior!

"No, Blaise. I know you're thinking it too. Why does she get all the special attention? Always to perfect and acting better than everyone else!" He turned to face her. "All to make up for the fact that she's nothing more than a worthless Mudblood!" The gasp and ensuing silence dominated a large section of the Slytherin table, but the small group of friends were the most stunned. Draco's mind went blank. He'd lashed out and thrown that word at her because he knew it would hurt, but he hadn't really thought of the aftermath.

Hermione said nothing as she stood, fighting to keep the tears from falling for long enough to make a dignified exit. She was heartbroken. She'd thought she had true friends, but they obviously just tolerated her for Heri's sake. She couldn't believe she'd fooled herself into thinking she could ever have friends. Why did her birth condemn her in the eyes of the people she wanted so much to like her.

* * *

Heri hadn't said anything about Hermione's absence from afternoon classes. Draco assumed he hadn't heard about the argument and hoped it would all blow over before he did. He'd seen first-hand how he reacted to that word being directed at Hermione and didn't think even being his friend would grant Draco much leniency. And on top of everything he had to think about what his father would say when he found out he'd angered the Addams. No. he was glad that no one at the table would have told on him… He hadn't noticed the twins approaching, or the wickedly amused grins they held after overhearing the argument…

During dinner, he overhead some seniors saying that Hermione had been seen crying the bathroom and grimaced. He may have imagined the dark look that crossed Herido's face, it had come and gone so quickly. He didn't miss how everyone else around turned to look at him, however and wanted to shout at them. Could they be any more obvious?

Thankfully he was saved from his growing unease when Professor Quirrell burst in, shouting gracelessly about a troll and filling the whole hall with hysterics.

The Slytherins were all ordered to stay put when someone realised that returning to their dorms as the Headmaster had suggested would send them into the path of the troll. They were very anti-fun at this school, Heri thought.

Daphne grabbed his arms and pulled him forward. It was the most direct, not to mention physical she'd ever been – this was progress, he thought with a smile.

"Heri!" Also the first time she'd called him Heri, but he wasn't sure how he felt about that one. "Hermione doesn't know about the troll!" Ah, yes.

"I'll find her." He declared with a sigh that somehow still conveyed serious conviction. Daphne was all for tagging along, but he told her to stay behind and volunteered Draco to go. Draco was too nervous to argue so they left – with nobody daring to question them – and set off to find the troll, following Herido's super human sense of smell. The blonde didn't even question it, too concerned with how bad for his health this little adventure would be.

They found the creature far too soon for his liking.

They stood in silence as it made its way inside a room. Draco watched as Heri leisurely made his way to the door, pulled it shut, and then locked it. He nodded at the door as a shriek rang out.

"This is the girl's bathroom." He informed a horrified looking Draco.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked as he grabbed the key and swung open the door without waiting for a response. He was panicking about Hermione, and only realised the danger he was placing himself in after he'd run into the bathroom and looked at the scene before him.

Hermione didn't notice the boys at first; too busy dodging the giant club that was trying to grind her into edible chunks! The blonde watched as she threw herself across the floor, taking momentary shelter beneath the sinks before she slid away, only just managing to avoid their fate as they were destroyed. Remotely, he felt Heri come in beside him.

"Addams, do something!" He yelled, losing his attitude in the face of a life and death situation.

"Why?" He sounded uncomfortably harsh.

"Heri!" Hermione called in outrage as she lunged away once more – the club following her motion. He sent her a wink and when Draco turned to look at him, with disgust, he subtly shifted his hand and the club fell far from her.

Draco took out his wand but looked lost. What did he do?

"Heri? What are you doing?!" He tried desperately. What was it with everyone using that name today?

"No, Draco." Heri replied sharply, taking his time when speaking. "What are _you_ doing? Isn't this what you want? Hermione's just a mudblood isn't she? She shouldn't even be at the school, no? Who cares if she ends up a stain on the bathroom floor?" Draco just looked at him for a second as if not comprehending his words.

Hermione had taken out her wand and was firing several of the spells, light and dark, she'd learnt so far, but nothing was doing much. The darker spells were cutting into the troll's flesh, but she was aiming for amputations! However, now Heri was here she allowed the panic and adrenalin to propel instead of cripple her. She was scared as hell, but kept telling herself that he wouldn't let her die here.

Draco was at a loss for words. He gave Heri one last look of disbelief before hearing Hermione scream once again and turning to help. Draco obviously knew more about being a friend than Addams. Sure they fell out now and then, but he thought they were adjusting to each other rather well. The truth was Draco liked Hermione, she was a great friend to have and he was furious that Heri, who she was so fond of, would leave her to die here! He used that anger to try to save his friend.

He picked up and threw debris to get the troll's attention… After that he came up blank.

Heri handed him a katana.

"What the bloody hell am I supposed to do with this?" He cried, trying not to wonder where the sword had come from and taking it regardless of the general absurdity. He'd really have taken anything.

"It'll penetrate the skin." Heri assured in a bored tone. Draco didn't have time to think on it further. The troll swung its club toward him and he managed to roll away just in time. He turned to where he'd heard Hermione call out to him. Her hair was as wild as it used to, her uniform was a lost cause and she was covered in debris and flecks of troll blood. If he wasn't currently preoccupied being frightened for their lives, he would have conceded that she looked fierce. He felt the creature getting closer and tried not to flinch as she threw a spell over his shoulder, hitting the troll dead centre. Draco spun quickly and closed his eyes as he lunged forward driving the sword home before letting out a yelp of fear and running back to Hermione in order to protect her from the retaliation that was no doubt coming. In his panic, he'd left the sword embedded in the troll's tummy.

Heri could have laughed. She was much more capable of defending herself than the other boy.

However fortune had smiled on Draco. In his blind lunge, he'd managed to drive the katana up through the troll and effectively gutting it from the inside. It swayed a little, looking confused as it gurgled on its own blood, before finally falling forward, rocking the whole room as it hit the floor like a ton weight.

Hermione let out a shuddering breath of relief and fell to the floor to ride out the shock. Draco took a moment to get his own breath back before straightening up and marching up to Heri, a look of fury lighting his face. Heri was about to speak when Draco hit him as hard as he could in anger.

Heri let him. It was the most 'real' thing he'd ever seen Draco do. His smile was wide and his eyes gleeful. Draco was holding a bruising fist, apparently not used to using them.

"How could you? You mad, vacuous…" He started to accuse, but stopped as Heri's face darkened. In less than a second his whole countenance had shifted and he looked like that frightening wizard from the train.

"That's enough, Draco." The tone brought him up short, and he felt his anger ebb in favour of a sense self-preservation. "You've made your point and I've made mine. Let's not get… mean." The Malfoy heir managed to cap his frustration. He diverted his attention to Hermione when he felt a delicate hand rest on his arm.

"Thank you, Draco." Hermione said, her voice deep and sincere. Draco's brain was finally clearing enough to realise what had happened here. He shook his head. He didn't know whether to laugh or scream. Was this a punishment or a lesson? What the hell was wrong with everyone?

"No problem." Came the eventual reply. Nothing else needed to be said. They were an odd bunch, but they were friends.

"Draco," Draco looked at Heri and stood still against the need to squirm as he was quietly regarded. He hadn't failed to notice the darkness that still lingered on the boy, nor the challenging tone in which he spoke, almost as if he was daring Draco to do something. He gulped subtly, wanting to kick himself for losing his temper and hitting the person that even the teachers handled with care. "My sword?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at what she thought was a rather silly power play. She knew Heri didn't care about Draco hitting him in the slightest. It was the attitude and accusation that he found unacceptable; Herido Addams did not like to feel he was being condescended to. She worried for the world. Draco merely sniffed, then slowly retrieved the blade. He bit down the gag at the slopping sound that seemed to echo in his skull as he pulled it free and handed it back to its owner just as the teachers came piling in.

* * *

 **I'm sorry about the delay. I'm not giving up on the story or anything like that.**

 **Thank you so much for the reviews! Some have given me a lot to think about! xx**


	10. Chapter 10

News of what transpired on Halloween spread throughout the castle and with Herido gone Draco's preening had become unbearable. Both Daphne and Hermione had taken to smacking the back of his head several times a day, but it did nothing to quell his attitude. Even when the twins had spelled his hair bright pink, he'd only been upset for half an hour before a tide of Slytherin girls reassured him that he looked so cool as a 'bad boy' and suddenly the change in style had been his idea all along.

"You know Longbottom, you should dye your hair, too." He suggested with an overplayed air of authority. Daphne stabbed her fork into a sausage to gain their attention and then pointed it threateningly at the Gryffindor.

"Neville, you are absolutely not to dye your hair!" She spoke with the same serious tone Hermione used when discussing schoolwork. Said girl took the fork from Daphne's hand and placed it gently down.

"She's right, don't listen to Draco. He doesn't know what he's talking about." He started to puff himself up ready to respond but she turned to the blonde girl instead. "And you shouldn't point with your cutlery. Really, Daphne, I thought you would know better." Daphne's was overcome with disbelief for a second or two.

"I _do_ know better." She said, tossing an impeccable lock over her shoulder. "I don't need etiquette advice from _you."_ She ignored the snickering from the twins as they whispered something about the girls sharing a sausage – she reminded herself she was too classy to pay attention to it. "But it's only Neville."

"Yes, I know more about style than he ever will!" Draco had to get a word in and took the first opportunity.

"What?" Hermione let out an exasperated sigh. "We weren't talking you, Draco." He threw his nose in the air and turned to make a point of joining in whatever conversation the twins were having.

"But Daphne, if even Hermione knows basic table manners then…" Blaise started but the brunette was on him in a flash.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" She asked with dramatically faked offence. Blaise just raised an eyebrow and answered calmly.

"Well, Addams said you grew up somewhere called 'suburban Hell' and Longbottom was surely provided with all the training a young heir needs." He shrugged as though that explained everything.

"I didn't grow up in…"

"Guys!" Neville finally interrupted. "I can decide what I am or aren't offended by." Well, he was getting better at it anyway. "And don't you think it's my choice whether or not I dye my hair?"

"No!" They all declared together as they turned to face him. Even the Weasleys seemed sure about this.

It seemed that Draco's acceptance of Hermione into his world had been a catalyst for them all to break down their own barriers and accept one another. They finally accepted that if Heri had seen something worthwhile in them, they were at least worth a look – or the benefit of the doubt – and so far they all liked what they saw. Neville had come a long way since that night in Gryffindor Tower. He'd had to. As soon as he started to hang out with Slytherins he'd become a target for his own house, so he'd learned quickly to defend himself and constantly reminded himself not to let other people put him down. Ron was currently the only Gryffindor in his year on friendly terms with him, though even that was tentative. And of course they saw less of the twins as they already had their own friends to socialise with, but all together their little group had become pretty solid. They all shared a dark secret. And they defended each other when necessary, Slytherin or Gryffindor, it didn't matter between them.

The teachers didn't know what to make of it.

Daphne had just started defending her authority over what he was to do with his hair when she was interrupted by Hermione.

"That's Pugsley's falcon!" They turned to observe the majestic bird as it swooped down beside her. She took the letter as it helped itself to her breakfast.

"It's from Heri." She said unnecessarily. She skimmed through the letter, her face breaking into a huge grin and then screwing up in distaste. Daphne leaned back to read over her shoulder.

"What kind of a name is Pubert?" She asked, rather loudly. Hermione hushed her and batted the question away.

"An Addams name. It's a boy!" She finally declared, waving the letter about before it was snatched up by Draco and then passed around.

A few days before, Heri had been collected by Professor Snape during Charms and he'd explained only that his mother was having a baby before fleeing the classroom. The letter confirmed their suspicion that he'd gone home to welcome his new sibling.

They all started to debate what to get the new Addams, when Ron approached to ask if Neville was ready to head to class.

"In a min." He responded. "Hey, Ron, Heri's got a new baby brother!"

"Oh, great." The younger Weasley said, his words dripping with sarcasm. George jumped up and pulled him to sit on the Slytherin bench.

"Are you saying…" He said as he sat down beside him and threw a heavy arm over his shoulder.

"That you don't think…" Fred replied from his other side.

"That brothers…"

"Aren't the most bested best thing…"

"In the whole world…"

"And shouldn't be celebrated?" … one of the twins finished.

Ron shrugged off the arm.

"Gerroff!" He cried. "Yes! Brothers are ten a penny. If he wanted another, he should have taken one of you!" The others laughed.

"He's got you there!" Blaise quipped. Ron quickly turned to glare at them all.

"Shut up!" It was one thing for him to bemoan his large family, but no one else had any business commenting on it.

"Easy there, little brother." Fred soothed.

"And we did offer…" George added regretfully.

"Hey, Ron, why don't you come help us pick out a gift later? We have a pretty good idea about where to look?" Neville offered – trying for the umpteenth time to include the boy.

* * *

After a short discussion it was agreed that Ron could be shown the Room of Requirement. Well, actually it was only after the twins had vouched for him that the others agreed he could join them.

"So you can't tell anybody about it!" Fred repeated for the third time. It was the most serious Ron had ever seen the twins.

"Yes, yes, I get it. No telling." He rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me _you guys_ are afraid of him too!" Ron scoffed but he was curious.

"Of course not!"

"But would you like it…"

"If we betrayed one of your friends?"

"I'm not a snitch!" The youngest brother defended as they made their way through the halls of Hogwarts. He would keep their secret about this amazing magic room they'd told him about if only because he was so excited to be out after curfew.

"We're nearly here." Neville informed him. Ron had noticed the recent change in the Longbottom boy and was more than a little jealous. The boy had become stronger since he'd joined Addams' small group.

After Halloween, Herido had realised that the other's may have been feeling left out, so he'd offered to take them along one night and involve them in the lessons and practice he'd been having with Hermione. Most of them had been ecstatic to learn some dark arts from an Addams. Only Neville had been hesitant, but he soon saw the wisdom of widening his repertoire and learned that not all dark magic was inherently harmful. Heri had asked Hermione if she minded giving the cutting of Cleopatra she'd received from his mother to Neville, and she'd been more than happy to oblige. Neville fed the plant hamburger and his own blood and it was already a loyal guardian of his bed and belongings (something he needed, what with the current animosity from his fellow Gryffindors).

The Lions met their Slytherin friends in a corridor on the seventh floor, and as Hermione paced back and forth, asking for a place to find a gift Ron shifted uncomfortably. He always felt like a traitor around the Slytherins, but if even Neville liked them, they couldn't be that bad, could they?

When the group entered the room they were a little surprised. This place was a mess! And Ron was a little confused about why they wanted to keep this a secret – it was just of room full of junk as far as he could tell.

At first.

After they split up to look for a gift, he began to really look at items around him. There was so much! Ok it was old, but there were trunks, for example, that were much nicer than his own. It was an Aladdin's Cave!

When Blaise called out to the others he was too busy searching through a stack of books to respond. He didn't care as much as his oldest brothers about school, but he thought it would be nice to have decent books to work with. It would be nice to have decent anything to be honest.

He placed yet another book to one side and suddenly pulled his hand away, yelping in pain as he did.

Cradling his right hand in his left he studied his palm. It felt like he'd been stung, but looked black and… charred? He wondered whether he should go see Madam Pomfrey as it certainly didn't look healthy, but then he'd have to explain what happened and the others would be furious. So he curled his fist and tried to ignore the stinging pain, deciding that he would go tomorrow instead. He was sure it could keep until then.

Standing, he cast a wary eye over the now abandoned books – he'd lost all enthusiasm for them – and tried to reassure himself that it was just a bug. An unusual insect bite. After all, there couldn't be anything dangerous at Hogwarts.

* * *

By Lunch the following day, Heri was back at Hogwarts, smoking a cigarette beneath the Whomping Willow and gazing without focus out at the Forbidden Forest.

The tree began to twist in agitation when he felt his friends approaching.

"How did you know I was back?" He asked without turning around. Had he looked at them he would have laughed. They were all stepping gingerly closer and closer, wands out and trying to keep all the tree's branches in their sight at once. They should have known that the Willow wouldn't even drop a leaf with Addams standing beneath.

"Conspiratorial whisperings along the Head Table." George said.

"Reckoned there could only be one person responsible for that." Joked Fred.

They all reached the centre and started to relax a little.

"Heri?" Daphne tried. Something felt very off about him. There was a darkness there that set them a bit on edge. Daphne felt more like she was approaching someone who's just lost a family member, not gained one.

He finally turned and they all noticed how dark his eyes were. Neville looked away first.

"Must you smoke?" Hermione chastised. Anything to break the silence. Heri gave her a cocky smile and took a long drag. She huffed. "They will destroy your teeth!"

"Yeah… _that's_ the worst thing they can do." Draco scoffed. She sent him a mean glare, but Heri finally smiled and they felt better for it.

"So how's the baby?" Daphne asked as she snatched up Blaise's cloak and laid it down, deciding she might as well get comfortable. The others followed her example and soon they were all sat together, the threat from above forgotten.

"Oh, he's in perfect health." Heri replied as he finally doused the fag.

"You don't sound too pleased about that." The blonde's observance sounded like an accusation, so he took out a few photos and passed them out.

"Of course I am!" He defended. Nothing was as important as family.

"Then why… hang on, this baby has a moustache! He was _born_ with a moustache?" Cue insane cackling from the twins. Heri screwed up his face and stomped one foot rather petulantly – not that any of his friends would say so.

"Yes, yes! He's a handsome devil. You don't need to rub it in." He huffed.

"Why is he in a kiln?!" Neville asked in horror as he stared at a picture of the newborn. Heri took out another cigarette and replied in a tone that was altogether too innocent.

"I thought he might like it." The others just looked at him until he continued. "He's fine!" Green eyes darkened once more. "It turns out he has an… affinity for fire." Taking a comforting drag he all but spat out his next confession. "He's a fire elemental."

A collective gasp was heard. Elementals were incredibly rare, though they supposed that if anyone was to be gifted it would be an Addams.

Hermione forced out a laugh.

"You're not jealous of your baby brother, are you?" The others didn't know whether she was brave or stupid, but when he turned those sharp, dark eyes on her, even she look down, unable to hold them.

"Of course I am." His reply surprised them. "He's got to go." The last statement was said under his breath, but they all heard.

"Well…" Daphne searched for a way to respond.

"We should head to class." Hermione suggested and everyone quickly stood.

"And I said I'd visit Ron. He's been ill all day." Neville added. Heri looked up, very much interested in this new, more pleasant topic.

"Oh?" He pressed.

* * *

It was that evening when Heri made his way to visit Ron, finding him in an induced coma surrounded by his brothers and professors Snape, Quirrell and Dumbledore. The boy was a pleasant shade of green.

"Mr Addams." Dumbledore greeted with a severity that was rare with students.

"Headmaster." He returned the greeting and studied the patient. He could hear the brothers being told of the intention to place him in St Mungo's in the morning. The twins had none of their usual mischievous joviality. That was a shame.

Heri lifted the boy's hand. It was heavily bandaged, but even without his Sight he could tell Ron had been cursed and that the curse was centred in his hand.

He reached out to unwrap it, but was stopped by Dumbledore.

"Don't touch that, Herido." Heri removed his wrist from the old man's grip and grinned as he turned once more to the curse. "He's been cursed."

"Obviously."

"What do you know of it?" Did the old coot honestly think Herido had something to do with this?

"Professor, Herido wasn't even here when Ron got sick!" One of the twins defended as he started to unwrap the limb.

"Mr Addams!" Dumbledore chastised a little more forcefully and was immediately followed by Snape.

"We don't know what it is yet. It's very old and very dark. You could be cursed too…" Snape knew it was a lost cause as he watched the dark boy's grin widen with each word spoken and each bit of blackened skin revealed to him.

Quirrell was fascinated. Being the defence teacher he'd been called in for a consult, but he truly had no idea what was happening to the young Weasley, and while he was curious to learn all he could, there was no way he was going anywhere near the boy. Herido Addams seemed to be just as excited about the idea of being cursed as he was about studying it.

"Any thoughts?" He asked. Oh, how he'd love to know Herido's thoughts.

"It kinda looks like a black spot, no? Have you heard of the old sailors stories of the black spot that summons the kraken?" Several heads nodded. "Well I don't think it's anything to do with that." Snape wanted to bang his head against the wall, and by the looks on the others' faces he wasn't the only one.

"Well," the headmaster started, "any ideas of what it might be?" Heri turned his wide grin to the old man.

"Why should I have any idea?"

All those present doubted their own observation skills before conceding that they had indeed just heard the powerful old warlock _huff_ in exasperation. He was about to press the child into giving him more when Heri took out his cell phone. Most everyone was stumped.

Heri took a quick photo of the hand. He could see the twins were clearly upset, but if he was going to restore them he'd need help figuring out what happened to their brother.

As the flash went off all the adults drew their wands, startled by the blinding light and odd noise.

"What is that?" Snape demanded and Heri couldn't be help but laugh, shaking his head and straightening up to leave.

"Muggle magic." He replied distractedly. "Night all." And with that he actually started to whistle a jaunty tune as he left a room of full of confusion and disbelief.

He entered the Slytherin common room to find Kounna, but spotted Daphne sitting alone painting her toe nails. He only considered a moment before inviting her for an evening stroll. A bit of company couldn't hurt.

"Oh, yes, ok." She decided to go along. She had nothing better to do. "Just let me finish this and I'm all yours." Heri waved one hand and all her nails were painted and dry and looked better than she could have done them. "D-did you really just..."

"Wednesday paints her nails." He said by way of explanation and she just stood and headed to her dorm to get ready.

"Ok, whatever." She'd already given up trying to figure out his family and if she started trying to reconcile the boy who she knew was capable of such darkness with the boy who paints his little sister's nails, she'd go crazy. It was best to just accept him as he came.

After five minutes he sent Kounna in to hurry her along, but she was still another 10 minutes after that. He glared when she finally returned.

"Salazar, Heri! You're so impatient." She moaned unconcerned as she handed Kounna back to him.

The other Slytherins ignored them, already used to the Parseltongue, but she thought he sounded a bit snide when he talked to the snake.

She was right. He was impatient and now he was annoyed. His precious Kounna was infinitely loyal, but seemed to have developed a soft spot for the blonde that he'd never seen from her before. She'd have bitten anyone else for taking so long after she'd gone to retrieve them.

He was starting to regret inviting Daphne even more when he tried in vain to explain the reason for their walk. After half an hour he'd been reduced to: 'Muggle communication magic doesn't reach Hogwarts, so we have to find somewhere it does reach so that we can use this magical muggle device to send a photo to my family in America.'

"But muggles don't have magic. That's what makes them muggles!" Was the obvious response.

"No, they don't. So they made their own." He handed her the phone, after finally getting signal enough to send a multimedia message. Thankfully they hadn't had to go too far from the shrieking shack so they had time to let her play around with his phone before heading back. Well, he thought they did.

By the time he'd explored the place and returned to her, disappointed at not finding a single supernatural occurrence, Daphne was hooked: online and learning. He sighed.

"Only you could discover Vogue in such a small..." He was surprised at the intensity in her eyes when she looked up at him. There were tears there and the unsure look of a lost child.

And he understood.

She was experiencing culture shock, coupled with having everything she knew about the world turned on its head. Yes, muggles were weak, but they were also amazing!

In the end he spent all night helping her explore the muggle world via the internet.

He woke up against a log, far into the wilderness beyond the shrieking shack, Daphne leaning against him, lying soft in his arms and still cradling his phone in hers.

He watched as she blinked awake and barely contained his mirth as her eyes bugged and she leapt away, only to be enveloped by the November chill and immediately run straight back into the circle of warmth Heri had created around them, only just missing the snake. In it all she still hadn't let go of his phone.

"Morning." He said, very much amused as he looked up at her. She was quiet and he wondered whether she still hadn't gotten over the culture shock from last night.

She was actually struggling to accept that she'd spent the night outside and probably miles from where she was supposed to be. Daphne Greengrass did not do things like this! Anything could have happened to them out here; people would surely know she was missing by now and she'd be in a world of trouble if the staff knew she'd left Hogwarts.

"We should hurry back!" She decided, turning to brave the cold once more. Heri sighed.

"Very well." After standing and stretching, he had to jog to catch up to her brisk pace. "Are you ever going to return my phone?" He asked, still amused by her air of concern. He thought she'd gotten over her anxiety disorder in the last few months, but evidently not.

She looked down at her hands, almost surprised to find the muggle device there and tried to turn it on.

"It's dead." He explained, only realising his mistake when she turned to him with a look of horror. "No, I mean the battery ran out…" And now confusion, "Its energy ran out, the… magic that powers it. It just needs to be recharged… it needs its energy replacing." Christ alive, wizards were hard work. Not only did they know nothing of the muggle world, they therefore lacked the vocabulary to even explain it to them.

She finally handed it back and took his arm to steady herself as they took the uneven path up to the shack.

"I learned a lot last night." She spoke quietly, like admitting such a thing was some great sin.

"Hmm, who knew there was hair and make-up tutorials on YouTube?!"

"I know right!" Was her enthusiastic response to what he'd meant as sarcasm. Next time he would take her into the dark web, he thought with a wicked gleam in his eye.

As they opened the door, several bats flew at them, obviously upset about being disturbed so early in the morning. While Daphne let out a shriek, Heri acted on instinct and speared each one to the walls before she knew what was happening. He winced: his mother would kill him if she found out – she did a lot for the protection of bats. Whoops.

"I'm never going anywhere with you ever again!" She'd had enough now. "Except that fashion show you said you'd take me to in Italy." Heri groaned. He had said that, hadn't he? But he had been so tired at the time… oh well it could turn out to be fun. He'd always wanted to open a fast food shop back stage at an event like that – all those models needed to learn how to enjoy life and appreciate the simple things. He considered the chaos the smell of frying meat and onions could cause as he looked at his blonde friend.

"You could be a model." Thankfully the girl was obviously used to hearing such things and didn't notice how corny that had sounded. She probably could though. In a few years anyway. Her hair was wind swept and she had small flecks of bat's blood across her face, which was reddened from the cold: she could surely make a fortune in the muggle world.

As they finally entered Hogwarts, he considered that he might have been wrong in thinking a little company couldn't hurt! He'd accomplished his original task, but now he'd have to hurry to get to Ron before they took him away to the hospital. He'd had no intention of introducing Daphne of all people to the muggle world, but maybe expanding her horizons would do her some good.

And it'd kept her sufficiently distracted while he'd 'explored' the area.

He smirked as he made his way to Ron. He was too good a friend really.

 **Next chapter we'll be back home for the holidays! Hope you are enjoying and thank you all for reading and especially those that take the time to review. Xx**


	11. Chapter 11

"Children, I know you mean well, but you have to open this door. Right now!" Dumbledore had no idea what was going on. Or why. He'd met with the Mediwitches sent to transfer the young Weasley boy and was taking them to meet the poor child when he came across this: a door barricaded with physical and magical booby traps. It was nothing he couldn't disable, but his instincts were telling him to tread carefully here. The Addams boy was behind this – whatever this was – and he'd sounded serious when he'd told the others to stay outside.

"You don't want to come in here." Fred cried from the inside. He was on keep-everyone-else-out duty whilst Herido helped his brother. Ron was in a bad way, so when Heri had come in saying he could make him better, the twins decided to trust him.

"Mr Weasley…"

"There's poo!" There was no poo. "Soooo much poo!" Ron was lying on his hospital bed, only half conscious and shivering. "And vomit!" There was no vomit. "We are swimming in vomit in here!" He just hoped that was enough to keep the adults outside for a while.

"Ron, Ron, are you… he isn't listening to me, is he?" Heri asked George, who just shrugged in response. "He looks like he's over the Toxic Shock now, right?" Again, another shrug.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" The twin asked, though he felt he already knew the answer.

"Of course." He hit Ron hard across the face, but the boy hardly reacted at all. "That's probably a good sign…" There was a small part of George that doubted Herido's ability to deal with this, but as he listened to his twin telling the adults on the other side of the door about the pretend infectious puss, he realised they were already committed to this course of action.

"Hey Ronald, I bet you're feeling super hungry now, ey?" Heri tried and was relieved by the grunt that could easily be interpreted as a yes. He took a black Tupperware box from his extended pockets and cracked it open. Ron's eyes immediately shot over to the box. Heri took out a large chunk of raw, bloody meat and didn't even have to raise it half way before Ron sat upright and snatched it away, devouring it in no time at all.

By the time the box was empty Ron was starting to look a lot better. He had a beautiful pallor and his eyes were starting to focus again.

"You have one minute before we open this door." The headmaster warned.

"Ok, Ron, focus." The boy looked up at Heri this time. "Great, Ron, we need you to tell them that you're feeling all better now ok?" He looked unsure about that so George stepped forward and took over as he used a wet cloth to clean the blood from his brother's chin.

"Ron, we promise we are going to make sure you're ok. We're family. Just, please, trust us." Ron was actually moved by the intensity in his normally jovial brother.

"Ok, I do feel a lot better now." He conceded. "What on earth was in that?" He gestured to the box that Heri was putting away.

"Yeh, we also need you to not tell them about that meat." He could see the questions coming so continued. "We will tell you all about it later, but they won't understand and you want to be able to go home again this decade, right?" Ron gave a short nod, which Heri repeated at Fred who then finally opened the doors and let the others in.

And so that was how Herido found himself in Dumbledore's office an hour later.

"I'm glad to finally talk with you Herido." The old man said. Fawkes had flamed away the second Heri had entered the office, but he was choosing to ignore that. "And I'm certainly glad you chose to use your 'all-purpose cure' to help your friend." They both knew there was no such thing as an all-purpose cure for curses, but Ronald Weasley was fine and healthy by the opinion of every mediwizard who'd examined him, so he was taking this as a good thing. The Weasleys were a good family so he was honestly glad that the youngest son had been saved, even if he didn't know what Heri had done to counter the curse.

"Well I'm glad to be learning under such a distinguished man." Heri replied and he meant it. He was always grateful to learn from the best, but honestly he hadn't seen anything 'great' from the old man yet. However one look with his Sight told him the man could be incredible if he wanted to be.

"And you're enjoying your time at this school?"

"I'm enjoying English culture." Obviously an evasive response. "I'm surprised though that you aren't teaching any natural sciences. I thought you were progressive, professor?" Grandmamma had insisted he continue his science and math education while at school, and Hermione had joined him in this extracurricular study, but his other friends wanted nothing to do with it.

Dumbledore let out a long-suffering laugh.

"I'm afraid I would be hounded out of position in a week if I tried anything so radical." They shared a laugh at that and the Headmaster was surprised to find the boy so easy to get along with. Maybe the child was here just to keep him off balance. He was expecting dark and he'd got a boy who drew no distinction between pureblood and muggleborn and championed muggle knowledge. Then again he'd dealt with a curse that was so dark even he didn't know anything about it, was obviously involved in the Flint incident and he still suspected was responsible for the elf that went missing at the beginning of the year.

"Mr Addams, we need to discuss your behaviour this morning."

"You mean when I saved Ron's life. I know, I know, but the twins are my friends and I didn't think it would hurt to protect their family and to be honest I was fascinated…"

"Please, Herido." The old man interrupted. "The issue isn't that you helped young Mr Weasley, it's the way you went about it. Trying to stop us reaching a child who desperately needed urgent care was foolish." Ok, Heri took offense to that. He leaned back and closed his eyes to take a couple of deep breaths. He hadn't thought about how he would deal with Dumbledore and he could admit that was probably arrogant of him. When he did eventually open them, his eyes fell on a small fiddle half buried in bric-a-brac. He stood to check it out.

"Do you play, Headmaster?" After a long sigh, he answered in the negative. "Do you mind?" Heri asked even as he raised the bow to play.

"Legend had it that Nero used that to barter for his soul from the devil. It's all nonsense of course, but let's not change the subject…" Dumbledore didn't even see it coming: Instrumental magic was rarely used, but the Addams' were all more than proficient and by the time Heri had finished his short dirge, the Headmaster was sound asleep. He really couldn't be bothered with listening to a good v evil speech right now. Nor did he savour the idea of being looked down on just because of his young age.

* * *

Ron had been discharged later that day and showed Heri and the others to the books he'd been looking at when he was cursed. Heri was hugely disappointed when he discovered that the cursed book only had enough juice for one person. It was a shame, because that would have made a really great gift for Pubert.

"So are you going to tell us what happened?" Draco pressed for the answer they'd all been dying to know.

"Yeh, what happened to me?" Ron asked with a glare. He was blaming the Slytherins for this; if it wasn't for them he never would have been in this room.

"Ok, well, you know, of course, of Necrotizing Fasciitis?" At the blank looks he continued, "Well it's a flesh eating bacteria and a long time ago a witch in Tanzania used it as a base for an amazing curse. The curse basically changes a person and if they survive the transition – you're welcome by the way – they then need a very specific diet to live."

"Are you saying I have to stick to a special diet from now on?" Ron asked, absolutely horrified by the prospect. "What was it you gave me? What do I need to eat?"

"Long pig." Hermione paled immediately at his answer.

"What's that?"

"Does it matter?" Hermione asked quickly. She didn't think this should be announced to such a large group.

"I guess not. It was the most amazing thing I've ever tasted." Ron had a fond, longing look as he spoke.

"Well that's good, because it was human and it's what you have to live on from now on." So, apparently Heri wasn't keen on Hermione's idea of keeping this quiet.

The room was silent for several seconds before the cries of disgust and outrage started. Hermione glared hard at Heri; he was enjoying this, the evil git!

"What? No! I can't… you can't be… that's evil and disgusting and…" Ron was desperately looking for the joke here. This couldn't be real.

"What about 'the most amazing thing you've ever tasted.'" Draco teased.

"You're not helping!" Hermione cried as she tried to stop the cursed boy from tearing his hair out in despair.

"I don't think you're appreciating how lucky you are to have been gifted with such a rare curse." Heri tried to reason with the ginger boy. Really, he didn't understand why he was taking this as a bad thing. "You get to appreciate something the rest of us can't, you'll have heightened senses and reduced impulse control and you'll save a fortune on groceries." He really was trying to be helpful.

"Yes and your family are poor so that will be helpful." Daphne hit Draco this time.

"You guys are sick! Stay away from me!" Ron finally stormed out and Heri brushed off the others' concern. Ron would come round sooner or later. He didn't have a choice.

When everyone finally started to disperse Heri took a lazy look around the room, wondering what other treasures might be hidden here. Maybe he could even find something to give his family for Yule, or else leave a couple of cursed objects around the castle. He'd love to see how everyone would react to that; they were all so twitchy here.

He used his Sight to find something worth his time, and didn't have to look long before he hit the jackpot. He couldn't contain his grin as he dug out the object that was radiating twisted, unnatural black magic. It was breath-taking in its malevolence and it seemed to be calling out to him in pained wails. Poor tortured object.

A piece of Voldemort's soul. Another Horcrux. Oh boy, that Voldemort was crazy after all, Heri thought as he stared into the diadem. Not only that, he was also massively cocky to have left it lying around here. Or maybe that was the point; that someone could come across it easily.

He wondered if there were more. If Voldemort had been cutting up and mutilating his soul like a delicious pizza that could have affected his mind. It was something worth looking into. In the meantime, there was no way he was giving this little gift away.

* * *

The twins had adapted to Ron's new reality better than he had. They focused on their extra lessons and Heri had been good enough to teach them how to help their little brother when the time came. They weren't at all happy about it, but family was family and they were quickly realising just how far they'd go to support their own. They hadn't had to kill anyone yet, but they both knew that if it came down to Ron or a stranger, they'd choose Ron every time.

Quidditch provided a good enough distraction. Slytherin trounced Gryffindor even without Flint playing which had caused a petty rift between the twins and Draco. So far it had only resulted in bickering and silent treatment, but Heri was quickly moving from amused to annoyed with the situation. He was starting to think about locking them together in a room and letting them fight it out. Well, he'd always been good at making his own fun.

As Draco made some sarcastic remark to bait the two beaters, Heri looked out over the great hall for something more interesting. His eyes fell on Ron. Heri was impressed with how long the boy was holding out, especially after hearing about what a glut his usually was. Still, he wasn't looking too good now. He was staring down at his dinner but not really seeing anything, shaking and jumping at the slightest noise that penetrated the ambient chatter; a dropped fork, a raucous laugh, and Heri thought maybe he just needed one last nudge to push him over the edge.

Nobody paid him much attention when he hissed a command to Kounna, but his friends did notice when she returned a moment later and were a little disturbed when he took a Giant House Spider from her and held it cupped within his hands. His eyes never left Ron when he started chanting under his breath – too quiet for anyone to hear.

And nobody really noticed when Ron started to cough, but by the time he was standing, bent over the table and choking, many had gathered to try to be of assistance. He gave several more violent coughs and then threw up an enormous tarantula.

Pandemonium ensued and the staff quickly made their way over to the boy, who was now freaking out. He desperately tried to bat away the smaller spiders that were now coming out of his nose, his ears, and even his eyes. Only three of the teachers turned to witness Heri watching with a sadistic smirk.

Heri had been too busy concentrating on the spell to pay attention to the cries and shouts of the twins, but once they started to plead with him to let their brother go he finally spared them a look, slamming his palms together as he did, killing the spider and ending the spell.

The spiders that had manifested disappeared, but Ron still ran screaming from the hall.

"Bloody Hell! What did you do that for?" Fred asked and Heri wanted to roll his eyes, but he didn't because he'd enjoyed that quite a bit.

"Fun." He answered with a smile. "A little bit of boredom; honestly, anything other than Quidditch was refreshing." The twins wanted to question him further, but knew it would be pointless, so they rose from the table to follow their brother.

"Leave him." Heri said, sharper than he'd meant to. He just really wanted Ron to break already and knew that moral support at this stage would result in either a longer wait for him, or fratricide. He wasn't keen on either right now. The twins hesitated, but finally sat back down. It was then that they realised the power Heri had over them. He was fun and mischievous and a good friend, but he was also dangerous and they finally understood.

"You guys should come stay with me over the break. I know a man who can help Ron, once he's ready." Heri offered. "Percy is not invited." He quickly added for clarity. He'd hate to get stuck hosting that Weasley too.

Dumbledore had seen the spiders disappear and knew that Ronald Weasley would be fine once he'd calmed down, but he was very glad that it was almost Christmas. It had only been one term and he was at his wits end with the Addams boy.

* * *

Fortunately, it only took another day for Ron to snap. Unfortunately, it happened when Heri was communing with his family and everyone knew better than trying to open his drapes when he was 'sleeping'. By the time he was back in his body and heard Blaise desperately trying to wake him the situation was looking dire.

Neville had alerted everyone that his fellow first year Gryffindor hadn't returned to the dorms for curfew, and with a groan from the Slytherins, they all helped track him down. They couldn't contain the situation however and soon Draco came across Percy Weasley running hysterically down a corridor not far from Gryffindor tower. He was covered in blood and had a nasty scratch across his face.

"Malfoy! Get back to your dorm immediately! It's not safe!"

"Wait! Wait, Weasley, tell me what happened." Draco had to grab hold of him to halt his progress. He had a pretty good idea of what was going on and knew he couldn't let the prefect raise an alarm.

"Let go!" Weasley struggled, but Draco was getting better at running on adrenalin and had the presence of mind to feel out and focus his magic throughout his body. He used the extra strength it gave him to shove the older boy hard against the wall.

"No." He said calmly. "This is about Ron, isn't it? We have to help him right?" The prefect was still struggling so he shoved harder. "This is your brother we're talking about, so calm down and take me to him. I can help." He was silently congratulating himself on how sure he sounded. Inside he was telling himself that Herido would turn up before he had to actually face the cannibal. He didn't.

Percy eventually showed Draco into the Gryffindor common room, though he was still muttering about getting a teacher. The scene that greeted them would stay with Draco for a long time. He had never seen a dead body before, never mind one that had been mutilated so. There was blood all over the carpets and sat in the middle of it all, rocking back and forth was Ron Weasley. While Percy seemed frozen in place, Draco approached the boy like one would approach an animal so as not to spook it.

When Ron looked up, the blonde smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way.

"I bet you feel better now, right?" He said quietly. He couldn't believe this was happening: a Malfoy soothing a Weasley! He just hoped it never got out. "It's ok…"

"It's not ok!" Percy snapped back to reality and started for the door. Draco knew he couldn't let him leave, but now he had two Weasleys to deal with and more importantly to keep quiet. He let out a huge sigh of relief when Heri and Blaise came in.

Heri took one look at Percy and sighed before flicking his hand in a shooing gesture. The older boy fell like a dead weight to the floor.

"Oh, Ronald." Heri smiled. "I appreciate your work, but your brothers are going to be so mad about your choice of subject." Oliver Wood's face was completely intact. It seemed both houses were down one quidditch captain, but he thought that Gryffindor would suffer the more for it.

After that things moved along more smoothly. To their horror, he took out a huge anvil devil and meat cleaver and started to chop the body up into more manageable pieces. Blaise offered up his House Elves to clean the room, because they were apparently used to getting blood out of soft furnishings. The twins were found and tasked with cleaning up their little brother, but they had been initially overwhelmed with the reality of what Ron had done. Wood was a team mate and a friend, and where the concept of killing for their brother had seemed so distant; this was too real and too personal. It was only when Herido pointed out that he certainly wasn't going to clean the boy up and that if they didn't do it, he'd be arrested and sent away that they finally focused on their task and tried to comfort their brother. One thing at a time, they told themselves.

After the body was butchered and bagged (nobody bothered to ask about that), Heri gave one of the elves a local address to deliver it to.

Heri was more or less pleased with the situation: Ron wouldn't have a choice in his allegiances anymore, because he was his best bet for survival, not to mention the fact that his thinking would have to take a massive overhaul.

The only problem now was Percy. He was tempted to 'disappear' the prefect. It wasn't like Ron would know it was his own brother he was eating after all, but he could already tell that the twins would be upset with that solution and he really didn't fancy dealing with it. His options then were limited and he was running out of time, so he picked a solution that might prove interesting in itself.

Snape woke to a gentle wrapping on his door and scowled. Anything that needed his attention at this hour wouldn't be good. No doubt it was students up to mischief.

The last thing he'd been expecting was Herido Addams standing in a pitch black hallway levitating an unconscious Percy Weasley and asking to come in.

Things got more bizarre after that.

"So you want me to obliviate Weasley? Of what?" He almost regretted asking when he saw the satisfied smirk on Addams' face. "What, are not capable of doing it yourself?" He spat, unable to stop himself. It wasn't really a fair question as no eleven year old child could, but all the same Heri's eye twitched in annoyance.

"No." He answered, his voice laced with an irritation that made Snape uncomfortable. "Unfortunately it will take another summer to do it safely. My recent attempts have resulted in major brain damage." He spoke of this like it was no big deal and the Head of House felt both awed and disgusted with the boy. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before he spoke again.

"I think you know I can't do what you're asking. It would be unethical and illegal." Snape was actually dying to know what it was Percy Weasley had seen, but he couldn't afford to be so reckless. Heri considered threatening or hurting the man to make him comply, but he had the impression that Snape could be awfully stubborn.

"Tell you what, Professor, you do this for me and make a vow not to reveal anything you learn here today and I'll give you something you want."

"That's an awful lot to ask. What could you possibly have to offer in exchange?" He scoffed. Inside Snape imagined the dark child had a lot he could bribe him with. Any knowledge of the Addams family was invaluable.

Heri learned forward with that knowing smile the teacher found so very annoying. He summoned a file from the far end of the room, and the casual use of wandless magic was intriguing, but when Snape realised it was the hospital file on Harry Potter's death he started feeling uneasy.

"I can tell you what happened on Privet Drive six years ago." Heri teased and the potions master froze. The fact that he knew that address proved the child had some knowledge of Potter, and he'd spent years trying to figure out what had happened, but was it really worth the risk? Heri tapped the desk and sighed. "I can also tell you where young Mr Potter is now." Ok that had Snape's complete, undivided attention. Surely that meant the boy was indeed alive.

"Ok."

* * *

 **Sorry, I got a little caught up with Ron, but we are going back to America next chapter. xx**


	12. Chapter 12

Once the dust and expected nausea settled, the Weasley brothers looked up at the Addams house. They'd been expecting some ancient castle, but this place didn't seem so bad. The 'advice' Hermione had drilled into them was bouncing around Ron's head, while the twins were simply eager to explore.

Hermione had been quite clear: be careful were you walk, because the Addams' had many pets and they all had free reign of the house. There was Kounna of course, spiders, vultures, bats, a lion, a jaguar, an octopus, piranha, crocodiles, a gila monster, a hippopotamus… she wasn't completely sure of all the animals that might be living there, but she had made it clear that the family were animal lovers and wouldn't appreciate any of their dear pets being harmed in any way. That was a little hard to wrap their heads around: how could someone who killed and tormented people so easily be protective of animals?

Next she'd insisted they ask for a tour of the house and surrounding area before they set off alone to explore. It was always best to know when you were about to walk into a mine field or room of mirrors, and that had freaked them all out: she'd been most serious when talking about the mirrors. They weren't to look into any of them because, although she couldn't be sure, she suspected they had demons within.

Finally had been the general advice to only eat what they recognised, to never assume any noise was caused simply because the house was old, and if in doubt, duck!

The twins thought she was being rather silly, but when the ground shook from an explosion, which was followed by an annoyed roar, they decided she might be on to something.

They were greeted by Pugsley and Wednesday and the introductions were surprisingly polite and calm. Hermione had also mentioned something about the house being a war zone. Wednesday noticed their confusion.

"We have a greater evil that needs our attention right now." Well, that just created more confusion, but the Addams children shared a look of dark determination.

They were led into the main living room to find the parents playing badminton.

"Children!" Morticia cried and came to greet them all.

"Please, make yourselves at home." Gomez addressed their guests with a grin, one that was somewhere between being genuinely glad to have them here and knowing a funny secret they didn't. He summoned Lurch and offered them all a cigar, which they politely refused.

All in all, the Weasleys thought things were a lot saner than they'd been expecting.

They were wrong.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Ron asked with concern. Heri insisted that they use their time here constructively and was currently attempting to teach them how to throw knives… over their shoulder… using a mirror to aim.

"Of course it is." Wednesday assured as she tossed a dagger with little care and hit the bullseye.

"Shouldn't we at least move the baby?" Fred asked. He was getting more concerned as Heri threw a dagger and the blade was embedded in the handle of Wednesday's in another bullseye hit. Heri glanced down at his baby brother, who was giggling softly at the shiny metal above him. Pubert was lying on the floor directly beneath the dart board. A miss or rebound would surely kill the child.

"We're just spending quality time with him." Pugsley defended. His blade also landed dead centre and hit Heri's. The darker children held a breath of anticipation when it looked like Wednesday's was coming loose under the added weight, but scowled when it stayed put. "Make a throw." He told George, who was the only one that was even trying to aim. Instead of agreeing, he lowered the blade.

"I don't think… he can't even roll yet…"

"Go on!" Heri pushed. "If you don't practice you'll never get any better."

"Yeh, but I don't…"

"Do it!" Wednesday joined in and having the determined attention of all three was too much pressure for George and he quickly threw the knife over his shoulder.

The little girl's eyes were gleeful as the knife's trajectory dropped. Within a second a plume of fire exploded from the baby with such intensity that the knife was thrown off course. The part of the blade the fire had touched liquidized on contact and splashed down onto his face, dripping off and solidifying once it was on the ground. Pubert just shook his head as if he'd been splashed with water.

"Woah!" Was the collective reaction of the three brothers. The other children let out a huff of irritation.

"That was…" But Ron was at a loss for words.

"Avaler des couleuvres. Incredible." Pugsley spat out helpfully.

"Amazing." Wednesday joined in.

"Yes, yes, we all know how fantastic and brilliant and gifted Pubert is." Heri all but growled. "But he'll lose his intensity when his brain becomes conscious enough to take over responsibility for keeping him safe…" The guests couldn't believe they were witnessing Herido Addams being so, well, thin skinned. The twins were dying to crack jokes at his expense, but just about managed to stop themselves when they considered how bad that would be for their chances of making it through the day unscathed.

"I'm bored with this. Let's play something else." The girl suggested.

* * *

On the day of Winter Solstice the Addams children went out together, Pubert strapped flat against Heri's back.

"We'll be gone all day, so do find something to amuse yourselves. You can play with the boggart or, oh Cleopatra would probably appreciate the company; she's on a diet so she's been so grouchy lately. Or watch a movie." Heri turned to leave but then remembered something. "There's a Christmas market not far from here, if you want to get something for your family. Have Lurch take you in the car. Oh, here." Heri looked around for a moment and then shrugged before opening a random nearby drawer. It was full of… dolls' heads, but underneath was a wad of American money which Heri gave to them.

The brothers decided to check out the market. It was an opportunity to experience muggle culture and they couldn't wait. They all thought they were doing very well interacting with the locals, but it took less than two hours before they all found themselves detained for 'psychological assessment' at the police station. They had been starting to panic, but as soon as they told an officer they were staying with the Addams family, the psychiatrist was cancelled and the Addams' called. The police already had the number.

Uncle Fester came to pick them up and the muggles seemed only too happy to see them leave. During the drive home, the twins struck up an enthusiastic conversation about pranking with the man and picked up many useful tips. Their real education began when they got back to the house. The more they learned the more the consequences for getting caught grew, but the man was apparently a pro and had that covered too. He promised he'd give them supplies for Christmas.

When evening came they were bolstered by the day's adventuring and they decided they were ready to explore the house alone.

They went from room to room and found nothing out of the ordinary. Well, nothing out of the ordinary for this house at least. It was already getting late when they discovered the place had its own ballroom, although it didn't appear to be used very often as the tables and fixtures were covered with dust sheets. Kounna joined them and slithered up to rest over George's shoulders.

"Oh, hey girl." He greeted while she ignored him to nuzzle her head into the warmth of his neck.

"Do you like scary movies?" a whispered voice permeated the room. All three children froze and tried to find who the voice was coming from, but all they saw were white sheets. One in the centre of the room rippled and billowed unnaturally – there was no breeze in this part of the house…

They slowly made their way towards it, dearly hoping it was just one of the Addams' kids playing a trick. Fred reached out a hand to remove the sheet when a louder voice suddenly rang out.

"Heeeere's Johnny!" They all jumped and Ron let out a less than manly squeal. Before they could react more another whisper echoed through the room, seeming to originate from the French doors this time.

"I see dead people." Ok, now they were starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Hey, Herido?" Ron called out hopefully. The answer didn't help them.

"Red Rum."

"Catch 'em, kill 'em." The voices seemed to be coming from everywhere.

"He'll appear behind you breathing down your neck."

"No one's gonna laugh at me, Mama."

"I will feast on your soul!" The three brothers had started to back out of the room quickly, but the statues had moved to block the exit.

"It's not the house that's haunted, it's your son." They had cowered together, but now Fred stepped forward.

"Ok, that made no sense at all. Who are you? Herido?" The Weasleys had of course never seen the muggle horror films that were so popular in this house.

"One, two, Freddy's coming for you." Now the voices seemed to be following them as they made their way across the room back to the French doors – they were getting desperate for any exit.

"Three, four, better lock your door."

"Shut up!" Ron cried as George rattled the door knob, even though the door wasn't budging at all.

"Five, six, grab your crucifix." They all looked at each other.

"Isn't that a muggle, Christian thing? The Addams' aren't Christians are they?" Fred asked, now even more confused. None of this made any sense and he didn't know how to make it stop.

A sheet flew quickly at the trio and they were temporarily blind as they scrapped to get it off.

"Seven, eight, gonna stay up late." They finally got the sheet off, but wished they hadn't as they were faced with a row of statues, only a few inches away from their faces, all cast in frozen screams of torment and agony. The lights went out and the air chilled.

"Nine, ten, never sleep again." The twins were freaking out now, but Ron closed his eyes and processed the room with his other senses. Ok, at first he'd closed his eyes in fright, but once he did he could hear the voice over his right shoulder. He could smell the same old house smell that existed everywhere in this house and he could smell his brothers, but nothing more… no one else was here.

He opened his mouth to speak when a voice shouted in his face, and he could feel the breath of it blow back his hair.

"Look at me, Damien! It's all for you." An invisible force gripped them all by the throat and slammed them to the ground.

"Ok, ok that's enough!" Screamed Ron. He was mostly running on terror, but he could just _tell_ that there was no one else in the room with them. He looked around desperately even as he started to choke and spotted the shine of Kounna's scales still resting on George to his right. He reached out with a strength he didn't know he had and grabbed the snake, ripping it in two in one easy motion.

The pressure left them and the lights came back on. The room was as it was when they entered and the snake Ron had killed had disappeared.

"What the Hell?" George started, but was interrupted by Fred.

"Later, brother. Let's just get out of here!" A mad cackling chased them from the room.

It took a good half an hour of sitting in the kitchen, sipping what they hoped was just orange juice before they could see the funny side of what happened. The ghost – whoever it was – had got them good!

"Ok then." George started with a grin. "Shall we continue?" Ron's mouth dropped open at the mere suggestion.

"You're crazy! This whole house is probably full of scary, dangerous stuff like that! We could've died in there!" He cried as he stood to leave the room. "You two morons can do what you like, but I'm going to my room! Where it's safe!" And with that said he left.

"Well that was rude," Snickered George before they set off for more adventure.

The next few rooms were benign if not a little gloomy. As they passed through a music room they could only really marvel at the size of Heri's home. They loved the Burrow, of course, but this really was something else.

The last room they decided to check out opened to descending stairs and they felt a thrill of anticipation at what could be found in the Addams' basement.

"Heri, would you pass me that saw please?" The twins were sure that was Hermione's voice and crept up closer to peek into one of many rooms down a long corridor.

"The cleaver or electric carving knife is easier to work with?" Pugsley offered his advice, but Hermione shook her head. The spies looked into a large round room with all sorts of ancient runes and symbols painted on the walls, floor and ceiling. Within the room were Hermione and the Addams children and 5 bodies of young men.

"Well," Hermione started. "I read this thing about mutilations being a prime factor in quality of..."

"The extra effort is only applicable if the sacrifice was killed prior to preparation." Wednesday informed. "These ones are still alive, so any method will do, although I suppose a saw would contribute to the pain, right?" She looked across to Heri.

"You know it." He answered as he handed his friend the hacksaw. The twins gagged. Those people… those people that the children were cutting up were still alive?! They didn't look it.

"It's a shame you can't come over for Christmas." The oldest boy offered as he gored out eyes and handed them to his baby brother, who smacked them together happily, as though they were toys. The twins didn't know much about anything, but they didn't think a new-born baby should be playing with freshly harvested human eyes!

Their world seemed to be getting darker and darker and every time they thought they saw the funny side, something even worse would come along to chip away at their consciences. They had enjoyed flirting with the dark, but recently they felt like they were getting the VIP tour.

"I'd have loved to have joined you!" Hermione returned, giving an annoyed sigh when a femoral artery sprayed copious amounts of blood at her. She merely ran a bloody hand across her brow and went back to sawing. "But my parents insist I'm home for Christmas and I don't want to upset them."

"That's fair." Pugsley offered before he swung his axe down with a sickening crunch. "Nothing trumps family. At least you could make solstice." He gave Hermione a warm smile and the Weasleys saw the curious look on Herido's face.

Hermione blushed and looked down at the now severed leg.

"We don't need the leg, do we? Just the feet?" She asked with a little less composure than usual. "We could give Ronald these parts couldn't we? No point wasting meat." And they were reminded how they got to this point. They would have to do similar to what was happening in this room if they were going to support their little brother. And they would, they reaffirmed to themselves. Their romance with the dark had gone further than they'd planned, but they were where they were and might as well make the most of it, so they tried to kill their disgust and see benefits of… live human dissection… If nothing else, they reckoned the Addams' house elves could turn human leg into some kind of delicacy for Ron.

Still, it was strange to see their little grade conscious Slytherin outcast cutting someone up with such a lack of care.

They listened and watched on as she chatted to Herido about their potions assignment while removing the major organs of the man before her.

After what seemed like an eternity everyone had finished whatever it was they were doing and the twins froze as Heri turned to look directly at them.

"Unfortunately, the actual ritual disallows for spectators, but maybe you could join us next year?"

"Erm,"

"Yeah,"

"Sure"

"See you guys…

"tomorrow." With that they left, knowing that whatever revulsion they felt, they still looked forward to being in that room next year.

Christmas Day came and went with similar secret goings-on, but was otherwise like any normal Christmas. Well, if normal presents consisted of medieval weaponry and bat caves in Nairobi, family games had the potential to kill you and the day ending with dancing and frivolity and hauntingly ominous music being played throughout the night keeping the Weasleys awake…

Heri had explained the ghost they encountered was just Cousin Creep who loved having fun with muggle comedies. Their introduction to the immense world of muggle entertainment was not a pleasant one.

* * *

As time passed, the Weasleys were growing more and more concerned for the tiny baby. They snuck closer to a door to listen to what was happing inside. They were doing a lot of that this week. There were just too many interesting things going on.

"Hold him still!" Pugsley shouted. A thwump and whistling sound was heard, followed by small giggle and gurgle.

"I'm trying!" Wednesday cried. Another snap and crash.

"You moved him on purpose!" Their friend accused.

"I did not, he tried to burn me."

"Not enough!"

"Well then you hold him!" Something that sounded suspiciously like a baby being thrown between them made the twins wonder whether they should intervene.

"I don't want him!" Another throw. Another giggle.

"Maybe we can teach him to swim! I don't think the fish have been fed yet." The oldest boy suggested.

Before anyone could respond Morticia's voice rang like a bell up the stairs.

"Children, what are you doing?"

"Playing." They all chorused together in innocent tones that were fooling no one.

A few seconds later the women came into view.

"Ah, our lovely guests, just who I was looking for." The door opened to reveal all four Addams children; Heri had ended up holding the baby. "Children, our good friend Dr Lecter will be coming to visit tomorrow night to pick up Ronald." Heri looked away in thought as she gave details. He'd been the one who'd volunteered the doctor to help Ron, but he hoped they could just send the boy to him.

"Let's go play outside." Heri said and passed Pubert to George as Wednesday let out a chilling laugh.

What followed was an epic battle between the three Addams'. The only thing the Weasleys could figure was that they had given up trying to kill the baby and decided to kill each other instead,

Heri's Forearm Machete got tangled in Pugsley's Manriki Chain and the older boy yanked his brother forward into the path of his stun gun, but Heri was used to electrical overload and was just about able to summon and bring down his katana, which forced Pugsley to push him away before his levitating sledgehammer could connect with Heri's skull.

That was too close and the twins couldn't decide whether this was the best thing they'd ever seen or if they were going to throw up from nerves.

Pugsley jumped away just in time to avoid Wednesday's axe and while the older brother had her focus Heri took the opportunity to aim a nasty cutting spell at her neck, only he realised he'd stepped on a mine on his back foot and had to spin and spring away – leaping much higher than a human should be able to – avoiding the blast but letting his siblings be thrown back by the shockwave. All the children landed on their feet. It wasn't for nothing that Grandmamma had taught them ballet when they were little!

As soon as they landed they were all back in position to strike and began circling one another.

The guest's attention was momentarily drawn away when Uncle Fester appeared on the scene.

"Sloppy." He bemoaned. "Kids today can be so spoilt." And with that said he hoisted up and fired a grenade launcher into the middle of them. None of them had been looking in Fester's direction, but they all jumped away and easily cleared the area before the grenade detonated.

"Think fast!" Came the cry from Gomez at he lunged at his brother with an open palm that sent an unknown force toward Fester, who dropped flat to the floor to avoid it and then returned something similar.

Ron looked over to see Heri swing his katana at Pugsley and miss by a margin that wasn't even visible from his position.

"Mr Addams!" He tried to raise an alarm. "Your children…" Gomez cut him off, turning to him with a smile.

"I know! Why should they get to have all the fun?"

"And how!" Fester added as he went to rugby tackle Gomez.

* * *

"So what was that about? Earlier?" Fred asked at the dinner table.

"What do you mean?" Heri asked.

"He means when we were playing outside." Pugsley offered.

"Oh well we were just playing."

"So, you do that a lot?" George asked, wondering how on Earth they had survived for so long if this was a regular occurrence.

"Of course." Wednesday answered. "Don't you play with your brothers?"

"I guess, but…"

"Not like that." Ron finished for his brother as he happily scooped another mouthful of stew into his mouth. The Addams' had catered to his new diet every day he'd been here, and he'd enjoyed every meal very much. Eating people was much easier when it didn't look like people. They say that nothing ever tastes as good as your mother's cooking, but god-damn it this did.

* * *

Dr Lecter was a suave man of European origin who was courteous and charming, but scared Ron if for no other reason than it seemed Heri wanted to avoid the man at all cost. Anyone who creeped out Herido Addams was cause for concern.

"Ah, Herido! I was hoping to have a chance to speak with you before you left." Heri paused for only a second before turning to greet the doctor with perfect manners.

"Doctor, it's good to see you again." He half was way across the hallway, attempting to make a getaway with his siblings, sans the baby, and the twins. "I hear you're working with the Feds now?"

"Yes, it's very educational." Hannibal answered and Heri wanted to laugh. America's most famous uncaught serial killer working with the people trying to catch him? Heri was sure that was very useful. "I wish you'd reconsider coming to therapy."

"Ha!" Heri gave a good natured laugh. "I'm afraid you're already far too insightful." The doctor returned the laugh and with every word exchanged the twins were wondering whether they should be leaving their baby brother with this man.

"And are you still hiding?" Heri looked like he wanted to protest, but Hannibal continued. "Is the mask of mediocrity beginning to feel so comfortable?" Heri just smiled that smile of his, the one that made you want to run.

"There is nothing mediocre about me, and anything that's hidden is hidden for good reason. And how is your mask serving you?" The twins really didn't know what on Earth was going on here, but they were still relieved when Pugsley interrupted.

"Forgive us, Dr Lecter, but we're just on our way out to a rave." They were? That was news to the twins. And Wednesday was with them, she was only nine years old for crying out loud.

"Oh, then don't let me keep you. Enjoy your evening all." And with that the Addams children returned their goodbyes and made for the door.

"What was that about?" Fred couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Nothing. Let's go." But Wednesday was always happy to help:

"Heri can't match the good doctor's mind games yet." She whispered gleefully. The twins decided they needed to change subject before they started ruminating once again that they were leaving their brother in his care,

"Do your parents know you we're going to a rave?" George asked.

"Maybe. I don't know. Why?" Heri answered as he pulled on his cloak.

"Well I thought the rave scene was kinda intense. Don't you think your parents should know where you are at least?" Fred asked incredulously. Heri huffed loudly. He was starting to get annoyed with his friends – the ones he usually relied on to lighten his mood, not kill it. He was about to show his ire, when Wednesday interrupted.

Fine, if it'll make you feel better…" She said like she was being massively put out by this detour. Heri was intrigued when he suddenly realised that she'd interfered on their behalf and hadn't been anywhere near as hostile to them as she was to everyone else. He wondered if it was that she was intrigued by them like he was or if she had a crush. He hoped it was the latter, because he could have so much fun with that.

They made their way to the conservatory where Mrs Addams was trimming her rose bushes.

"Mother, we're heading over to Washington for a rave." Pugsley informed. The matriarch merely turned to them for a moment.

"Have fun, dears." She said and then returned her attention to the roses. She knew the reason they were heading out was so that Herido could avoid the attention of their favourite psychiatrist, but it was the holidays, so she saw no reason to deny the children their fun.

When the children returned home a few days later, the twins no longer felt like children and they weren't sure they'd ever be able to look their mother in the eye again… but it had been one Hell of a trip!

Their musical education continued on New Year's Eve, when the whole family attended a Slipknot concert followed by a concert by their State's finest philharmonic orchestra.

By the time it was announced that school would be starting on the usual date, they were beginning to question their own sanity.

* * *

 **A snap shot of the Weasleys time staying with Heri.**

 **Avaler des couleuvres – swallow grass snakes: basically means being so insulted that you can't even reply.**

 **Thank you for reading and reviewing! xxxx**


	13. Chapter 13

"Aren't you glad I wouldn't let you have anymore?" Heri asked, wanting to laugh as he watched Fred trying to hug a seat in the car Herido, he friends and several other Slytherin's were occupying. "You should really be thanking me, don't you think?" He teased.

"Thank you." Fred returned as he threw his cloak over his head. "I hate you forever." The others laughed as the train pulled out of King's Cross.

"What on Earth did you give him?" Hermione looked less than impressed.

"Nothing." Heri said innocently and nobody believed him. "I didn't!" He defended, slightly offended. "Last night we had a little going-back-to-school-after-winter-break party," only those who'd spent time with his family could tell he was telling the truth; that they really were the type of family to make such a big deal out of a new school term. "and Wednesday was good enough to share some, erm, treats with Fred."

"Why would she do that the night before school?" Fred groaned, still hidden from the light.

"She's a sadist." Heri proclaimed as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Besides, you took enough at the rave to know what it did."

"I just wanted to spin… and she's hard to say no to." Was his muffled defence and his twin immediately agreed.

"We really can't be held accountable." He added as he passed water to his suffering brother. "How come she never offered me any?" Nobody missed the glower that darkened Heri's face at the question.

"Who knows?" He knew. He looked down to stroke Kounna and continued. "We'll try it the other way around next time." Damn it, he shouldn't have said 'we'.

"Herido Addams, what did you do?" Hermione demanded but then went straight back to checking through his homework in order to remove any illegal suggestions.

"Nothing!" He repeated. "But I suppose now it's happened it is interesting to know that certain states of mind don't transfer between twins." Draco cottoned on to Heri's little experiment and shook his head. "Which is disappointing." Heri added under his breath, though everyone heard. He kept the rest of his thoughts to himself – no one needed to know that the next stage of the experiment focused on the transference of pain.

"We conducted our own experiment." Draco informed confidently, but Hermione looked up immediately.

"Exposure to the prominent society is the most educational _experiment_ you'll ever do!"

"Oh?" Heri was intrigued. When they explained what had happened between the rest of his Slytherin friends over the holidays he was surprised. Daphne's exposure to muggle technology hadn't been planned and Heri really hadn't given it much thought. After all he'd only shown her his phone and that was something all muggles took for granted. However, it turned out that Daphne's fascination with it hadn't died with his phone's battery. In the safety and privacy of their own homes, she'd shared this new world with Draco and Blaise and this led to all three of them turning up at Hermione's house demanding to be shown everything.

Draco was appalled by her home and refused to enter it for three days, and by that time they were learning so much that he just ignored the disgusting muggle abode in order to use the Wi-Fi.

The tale of how they had spent the last week of the holiday in the muggle world was spoken in hushed tones as it wouldn't do for any of their housemates to find out.

Strangely they all still held muggles in absolute distain. However, Daphne was wearing Chanel, Blaise was asking how to make digital music devices work around magic and Draco seemed overly concerned about the endless horrific things they could do… and also how convenient on-line purchasing was…

Part of Heri wanted to challenge them on this and defend the muggles. He would argue that more muggles understood the theory behind modern technology than wizards knew the theory behind modern spell craft, but in the end he realised that he didn't actually care how they felt about muggles. They had been courteous to Hermione's parents and that was all he'd have demanded from them.

Besides it was funny to hear how annoyed Hermione had been with the situation and how they had all come to blows over their opinions of her home.

It was also rather amusing to hear how much Ron had learned in the last week. He listened as the boy excitedly shared the various herbs and flavours in the thermos flask he carried with him, as well as the rude insurance investigator that made up the protein therein. Heri thought Ron's new interest in the culinary arts could be beneficial, although he'd have to learn how to cook animal meats as even Herido had standards.

As the other's all shouted at Ron that he needed to keep certain information to himself, and Fred cursed them for shouting at all, Heri thought forward to the upcoming term. He was curious about how Dumbledore had managed to stay in position. He could only assume the man had a lot of favours to call in.

The winter holidays had started early after the severed head of one Oliver Wood was found deep in the Forbidden Forest. The forest and surrounding area had been searched thoroughly, but no one was any the wiser to what had killed him or why he'd been out there in the first place. By the time January came, all parents were reassured that whatever had attacked Wood had passed through the area and the school was safe once more, with more stringent security in place around the forest, just to reassure.

Naturally, a memorial was to be held. Heri didn't see the point until he'd heard the twins threatening their brother. After they'd recovered from the shock and come to terms with their loss, they had of course been outraged by what they saw as Ron's betrayal of Gryffindor. They told him that he would be trying out for Keeper next year and if he wasn't the best damn keeper Gryffindor had ever seen, they were going to feed him to himself! Heri was intrigued to see that.

And then of course there was Snape.

He'd surprised Heri and he did so love being surprised.

Once the vow was made Snape made short work of Percy and barely noticed the horrific scene he was deleting. He could lament the atrocious ramifications of that later. He took Heri's arm and dragged him into his quarters. Heri did not like this! He pulled his arm free and sent Snape a glare so cold that the man had to take a step back.

"I just committed a crime for you, Mr Addams, so I do hope you can deliver on your end." Snape would see this through no matter what.

Heri straightened out his robe and took his time sitting down and getting comfortable. He was sorely tempted to just leave, but he had given his word.

"Six years ago Harry Potter stabbed his fat, ill-tempered uncle to death." He spoke matter-of-factly and sounded utterly disconnected and unconcerned with the subject.

"Ridiculous! The boy would have been 5 years old."

"He was angry." Heri shrugged. "You really should be careful about making 'children' angry." Snape didn't miss the threatening tone but carried on regardless.

"So perfect little Prince Potter murdered his uncle, and then what? The 5 year old disposed of the body, faked his own death and then disappeared into the sunset?" He scoffed.

"No, someone was sent to rescue him." Snape's eyes never left his as the professor searched for any sign of deceit. After all this time he wasn't entirely sure he could actually face the truth.

"Who?" He whispered out and Heri's returning smile was out and out evil.

"A dark family." He said teasingly. "Not one you'd know." Snape's fist clenched at the teasing. The child had no idea what this was doing to him.

"Who?" He repeated with more force.

"Manners, Professor Snape." Heri chided and Snape's jaw set. In that moment he was hanging onto his self-control by a thread. He was one sarcastic statement away from torturing the truth from the infuriating boy, sacrificing everything in the process and not giving a damn.

Heri laughed.

Snape's wand was in his hand within a second, but Heri's reflexes were next to none at this school and the kunai was thrown, spearing the man's wrist to the arm of his chair before a spell could be cast. Heri was under no illusions that he could win in a wand fight, not yet. Sometimes the best way to win a fight was to prevent it in the first place. Besides, there was a thousand other ways to eviscerate someone.

The stared each other down for a short moment as they considered their options, but in the end Heri was pleased to see that even though he must have been seething, Snape managed to compose himself and had the wherewithal to treat himself one handed in a way that prevented further damage. Heri knew he'd severed his ulnar artery and if Snape had been stupid enough to bleed to death, he'd have let him. The man was too brilliant for such a pathetic death.

"Care to share why this is such a sensitive issue?" Snape didn't rise to the bait, unfortunately, so Heri carried on talking as he dressed the wrist. "It's funny, but I think you already know. Somewhere in that brain of yours I think there's a truth just itching to be acknowledged."

Snape finally turned back to the boy. He wasn't sure what was being implied, but struggled to keep his building hatred of this boy at bay. His hatred of those knowing green eyes and his arrogant smirk and now prominent curse scar…

The walls fell around Snape. The ground gave way and he was hit in the face by the force of an ocean.

No. The boy was playing some cruel, wicked game with him.

There was just no way…

The fringe fell back in place and every bit of sanity Snape had screamed at him that it was a hallucination.

Heri saw the moment realisation hit. It was about 3 seconds before Snape's chest compressed and he crumpled into his armchair with a thousand yard stare.

Curiouser and curiouser, Heri thought. He was actually disturbed by the broken look overtaking his potions master and finally decided to just put the man out of his misery.

Heri slowly took Snape's hand, his arm hanging like a dead weight, and brought it up to brush away his fringe once more. Snape's fingers trembled as he ran them across the famous scar. He looked utterly drained, but his voice, though quiet, was strong and the most wonderfully deadly edge to it.

"Get out!" He said after snatching his hand back.

Heri sat back on his heels and took a moment to assess him. Even Snape's magic had never been so violently chaotic before and he wasn't sure if the professor was about to break down, attack him again or burn down the school.

He decided it might be interesting to find out and so stood to retrieve his knife, before sauntering out and returning Percy to his dorm.

"Heri!" Daphne's voice broke through his memories. "You ought to get changed soon too." Looking around it did seem like everyone else was ready for school.

"If I must." He grumbled and suddenly blackness rushed through the carriage and blinded the shocked and confused students for several seconds, but as soon as it had come, it was gone and everything was as before, only now Heri was perfectly dressed in his uniform.

"I…" Ok, so through the surprise, Daphne was impressed – that could be an extremely useful little trick! "That was rather rude, you know?" She settled for saying instead. Heri just smiled.

* * *

School continued as before, with very little changed. Flint was being pressured to re-join the Slytherin Quidditch team, yet continued to refuse.

"It's selfish of him!" Draco cried from their usual desk in the library.

"They say he has an anxiety problem." Daphne returned in much more subdued tones, as though this rumour wasn't already known by everyone in the room.

"Yeh, Quidditch is kind of an intense sport, Draco." Blaise added. "You need nerves of steel."

Draco scoffed. "He seems fine!" Whatever Flint had been through was months ago and Draco thought the older boy was almost back to his old self. No one needed to know how he had to cast silencing charms on himself every night in case he had nightmares or woke in tears.

Herido looked over to where Flint was sitting at a table, laughing quietly with a few friends and looking to the world like any other student. He strummed his fingers on his empty parchment. It was a habit all his friends had come to associate with his thinking something unpleasant and so none of them missed the tiny smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth.

"Blaise, give me that i-pad?" It had sounded like a question, but Heri never turned his eyes away from Marcus and his hand was held out expectantly, so Blaise said nothing as he dug out the object and handed it back to its owner.

Suddenly, the (relative) calm of the library was destroyed by a few simple notes ringing out loudly. All the other students looked across to the source of the music, to Heri's table, but Heri and his friends were all looking at Marcus Flint. Within a few bars of the intro he'd gone white as a sheet and hunched over at a painful looking angle, shaking violently and whimpering softly. Soon enough he looked up to find Herido Addams location in the room and Neville for one had to turn away from the haunting, hunted look of desperation and pleading in his eyes. Heri just raised an eyebrow and Flint looked down once again. By the time Madam Pince had arrived to throw Heri out, or attempt to, Flint had fallen to his knees, while his year mates tried to help him up and block him from the many onlookers.

Most didn't understand what was happening – the song was loud but catchy and upbeat.

Finally Heri paused the Libertines song and turned his smile to his friends.

"I don't think he's quite ready for Quidditch yet."

* * *

Snape had been avoiding Herido Addams since learning the truth. Everything Snape knew to be true in this world was shattered with that revelation and it had taken him weeks to even comprehend it. Every time he looked at the boy, even if only in his mind's eye, all he could see was Potter. Whereas before he thought Heri looked like a paler version of Mr Addams, now the features that had escaped his notice where blaring at him like a neon sign that flashed Harry Potter, Harry Potter, Harry Potter, again and again and wouldn't go out even when he closed his eyes.

And he still didn't know what to do with this information.

At first he'd been enraged. He'd been livid that the boy had been lying to him about something so important even though logically he knew Harry, Heri, whoever, wouldn't consider his identity any of Snape's business. He was devastated that Lily's son had turned into someone that didn't even flinch when stabbing his professor, and didn't feel any compunction in butchering a fellow student as he had seen him do in Percy's memory.

But then there had been the relief. The weight that was lifted from his shoulders in knowing he hadn't failed the boy in his childhood, that he was still alive and stronger than he could have ever hoped, and yes, selfish as it was, he was relieved that the boy was dark. Not only would he love to see Potter's face if he could see his son now, but he'd also made a promise to protect Harry Potter and this revelation made his life a whole lot easier. Well, he could only assume it would.

But then thinking of James' opinions also made him consider how Lily would react to her son and round and round the emotional Catherine wheel of Hell went. Anger, to devastation to glee to relief to sadness and all in under a second. It was exhausting.

And through it all he had to keep reminding himself that the boy was first and foremost an Addams now, and every opinion or plan he formed relating to him had to be seen through that prism. Heri had been unnaturally quick in throwing that knife and Snape had realised at the time that it could have easily been aimed at his heart and that he was therefore only alive now by the grace of a child he couldn't decide whether he should hate or hug. Not that he hugged… But the point was that even if Snape would be ready for a physical attack in the meantime, he would grow up to be one hell of a dueller with such a quick draw.

All in all, he'd had to reduced it down to fundamentals that even a baby could deal with: Harry Potter was alive – this was good; he was dark and this was also good; Lily wasn't here to see it – check 'good'; the rest of the world thought him to be dead and so he wouldn't be a target in the years to come – good; he was part of a powerful family and so couldn't be more protected; and finally, he would be spending his educational years under Snape's watchful eye where the man could honour his promise. Fire: bad. Tree: pretty. Alive: good.

But it still hurt to look at him.

* * *

Heri's sleep hygiene hadn't improved since starting school. Even in such a restrictive environment, there were still for more interesting things to do than sleep.

Sometimes he simply wandered through the forest looking for a challenge, but there never was any. A being like him would always be safer in a dark forest than a school of light. Still, he took the time to improve his mastery over certain creatures.

Sometimes he'd explore the castle, trying to find any other treasures like the Room of Requirement.

Sometimes he would simply sneak out to muggle areas or round up some animal sacrifices for his friends. He was always curious how far he could push them. Draco had impressed him by killing a centaur he brought back, but none of the other's would kill anything that seemed even slightly intelligent. Yet.

On this night he had been forced into a room near the library after almost being discovered by Filch. He wouldn't have minded, but Dumbledore seemed to be monitoring him whenever possible after Wood's death and playing with the caretaker in the middle of the halls would be foolish.

Even so the night turned out to be more interesting than he'd anticipated when he came across a mirror that vibrated with all sorts of enchantments – not a single one of which he could decipher.

He read the enscription easily enough and didn't pause before stepping before the mirror, curious to know what it would show him. He didn't think he wanted anything really, except maybe respect and he couldn't imagine how that would be visualised.

He was wrong.

What he saw hurt.

It hurt in that way he hated most. The type of pain he couldn't decide was good or bad, but kept him feeling hollowed out and alone and drew from the never ending source of his secret weakness.

In his reflection he was part of an image that could have been any of a dozen family portraits that were dotted around back home. His mother sat in her favourite chair holding Pubert and was surrounding by the others – Heri included. The only thing out of place was the two additional figures that stood slightly off to the right and who he recognised immediately as Lily and James Potter.

They held each other lovingly as they watched over him.

And their smiles showed no scorn.

And something snapped in Heri like a dry twig. His reflection was strong and confident and regal, but in reality he was being overcome by those feelings from long ago. Mostly he felt vulnerable. He'd come so far in life and this was still his heart's desire? That in addition to his beloved family, he needed acceptance from his birth parents? That he needed to know they wouldn't reject him, revile him?

 _Fuck that!_ He thought viciously. He wasn't a lost lonely little boy and he didn't need… He looked up to Lily once more, her eyes were a little sad, but that small smile was as warm and loving as his mother's and James Potter seemed almost proud to see his son standing proud as a powerful member of the Addams family.

Herido held his head for a moment, unable to tear his eyes away. He knew this wasn't real, but it was the closest he would ever get to knowing the love of that young couple. As he beheld them he could feel every minute of every year he'd spent in the darkness of Privet Drive, praying by some miracle they would come back for him, that he could be loved and wanted. He could feel the pain he'd experienced when his mother had first showed him pictures of the Potters.

He wouldn't swap his family for anything in the world, not even the Potters, but the love, relief and happiness reflected in the mirror, false though it may be, hurt like hell.

Finally, he took a deep breath to steel himself and with a cry jumped high to deliver a spinning hook kick to the mirror, only he was knocked across the room before he could land the blow. He landed in fighting stance and looked up to see Dumbledore with his hands up in the universal gesture of peace.

"I apologise, Herido." The old man began as Heri relaxed his posture and walked over to him. "I couldn't let you destroy such a priceless artefact." Heri shrugged. That was fair, he supposed. "I imagine you know what this mirror does?"

"It gives us a taste of the impossible. A fine instrument of torment, professor." He meant it as a compliment, but the man looked a little aghast.

"What did you see?" He asked before he could stop himself. Knowing what Herido Addams desired, and what had made him react so violently could be useful, but the boy just sighed.

"Sheeted memories of the past." He took a breath as if to continue, but then gave the headmaster a sad smile and turned to the door. "And thus the sad Soul that here passes, Beholds it but through darkened glasses. Goodnight, professor." And that said he left the man feeling as though he'd intruded on something precious.

* * *

 **Heri's quotes: Dream-Land by Edgar Allan Poe.**

 **FaeMelody: My Addams Family are predominantly based on the 60s TV version :)**

 **I apologise for the huge delay. This is mostly down to my inability to settle on how both Snape and Herido would react to things that happen in this chapter. I must have written half a dozen versions of the Heri/Snape reveal, but in the end thought it best to just get it done with and move on with the actual story!**

 **Thank you for reading! xx**


	14. Chapter 14

**This is a repost as I really didn't like the way it read before. Friendships and responsibilities are so bothersome heehee.**

Those that believed Slytherin's reaction to Hermione had been overkill had obviously never been present immediately after a Slytherin Quidditch team lost to Hufflepuff, and lost their top spot in the school league as a result.

Heri had often marvelled at how sport could create mass hysteria in a way that nothing else could. In the past he'd found it a passing curiosity, even once attending a Super Bowl in order to soak up the mass amount of human energy overflowing throughout the stadium. However he'd never before been the focus of that hysteria.

Flint was now under more pressure than ever to re-join the team and Heri was being harassed to make that happen. As though he had anything to do with the situation…

Slytherins he'd never spoken to before were approaching him and even his friends were on his case. Daphne had pointed out, with a sly smile, how it might be interesting to nurture the fine ruthlessness Flint showed on the pitch. Heri had noticed that the girl was quickly learning how to manipulate him to action. He supposed it was what made her such a good socialite. When Hermione accused him of purposefully sabotaging their house, he felt like he'd stepped into some twilight zone and excused himself, fleeing to the privacy of the forest to meditate.

"He's been spending quite a lot of time alone lately." Daphne observed as the rest of them settled down to lunch.

"He's working on something." Draco said dismissively, as he watched Flint enter the great hall and make his way over to his own section of the table.

"Something to do with shadows." Hermione added before turning to cross reference her Herbology notes with Neville's.

"Can't you do something about it?" Nott asked Draco, earning nods of agreement from many other first years. Draco leaned back and quietly watched Flint for a moment more before standing. He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing, but bolstered by the others be threw on a fake confidence and strode up to the older boys.

"Flint, how's it going?" He began in a voice that belied any nervousness he felt. Flint and his friends turned to acknowledge the Malfoy heir. Nobody knew exactly what had happened to Flint, not even his closest friends and family, but everyone suspected enough to know to give Heri's little band a modicum of respect. 'Better safe than sorry' was the opinion of most. Never mind that Draco had his own growing reputation after the troll incident.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Montague asked on behalf of his friend but, before he could respond, the twins came over and shoved him aside.

"Whatever he's about to say…"

"Ignore it!"

"You want to trust us on this, Marcus."

"He's up to no good!" One of the twins finished as Draco got back to the table, managing to push his way between the two.

"Get lost, losers." He growled, earning a dramatic show of offence taken and Fred mimicked his heart being cut out and George began a fake cry.

He ignored them both.

"We've been thinking," he began, no clue as to what he was about to say but sounding like he owned the place. "And we think it might be best for you to take up your old position on the team." Flint let out a groan, well used to this topic of conversation by now. Before he had the chance to brush Draco off however, he continued, his face and tone hardening as he gathered his magic to himself, ready for any reaction from these older, violent boys. "You don't seem to understand. You're going to re-join the team. If you like I will assist in your managerial duties," at that Blaise and Ron, who joined him at some point gave a loud groan, knowing Draco had just invited himself to be co-captain in all but name. There would be no living with him now.

"You can't deny the contribution you made to the team." Daphne added. It really was a bizarre thing to see as she and Hermione stepped up to join the others: as soon as Draco made his move, the rest of them had been ready to back him up, even the Gryffindors were there in case the older boys lashed out as they were known to do. Nobody would believe a Malfoy being supported by Weasleys and muggleborns if it wasn't such a regular occurrence nowadays.

"I'm not talking about this again. I'm not into it anymore and I'm not playing again." Flint's voice was strong but he froze when Hermione finally joined in.

"I think that's probably a lie, no?" Flint's posture became so painfully stiff with tension at her accusation of lying that Pucey stood from across the table to intervene, but before he could say what was no doubt going to be some terribly rude rebuke to the muggleborn, Flint forced himself to speak up.

"I, I didn't." He started shakily. He would never forget learning how Herido Addams felt about being lied to, and though Hermione hadn't been there for that particular lesson, she had participated and seen him utterly broken and he couldn't help but associate her voice with her more violent friend. He held the table with an iron grip, determined to stay strong. "I swear, I just,"

"I think it would be best for you to re-join the team." Draco repeated and the steel in his eyes left no doubt with anybody present that this was a genuine suggest, no, this was a command. Flint looked up at the mixed group looking down on him expectantly and finally sent a resigned sigh in Draco's direction.

"Ok, I suppose I could see how it goes." He really didn't see any other way to answer.

As they calmly walked back to their own seats, Draco grinned like he'd been given the keys to the kingdom. Hopefully he wouldn't be moaning for a while.

But of course, Draco Malfoy could moan for England and it turned out that in addition to being a quick study in the kitchen, Ron was a brilliant chess player and when a Malfoy continuously lost to a Weasley, they got whiny, but it was ok, because in this instance he also got bitchy and Ron was even more easy to provoke nowadays. Physical fights were not uncommon, but Draco was good enough to hold his own against the cursed boy. It was especially funny to be around when Hermione would catch them fighting instead of studying – last time she nearly decapitated the two of them with a quill.

* * *

Voldemort had noticed a shift in the student population since the start of term. The power and respect demanded by Herido and his friends was becoming more obvious with each passing week and the student population as a whole seemed all too happy to mind them. It was subtle and rather tenuous, but it was there. On top of that the apparent defection of Ronald Weasley had disturbed a great many. The child was as indoctrinated in the ideology of the Light as they came, but since his sickness he only ever really sought the company of Addams' little circle. Nobody could quite put their finger on what had changed in him – he seemed the same as always in many ways, but there was just something; perhaps a lack of concern for how he was perceived that was such an obvious insecurity to him before. Even Dumbledore was unnerved that the next generation of such a loyal family had been lost to the dark, while he could only sit back and watch.

* * *

As Gomez and Morticia listened to Herido's update, they could help but be a little impressed at his/his friends' progress. Ok, so they were mostly impressed that their son had kept these children around for so long without breaking them in one way or another, but Morticia especially also appreciated how they'd all changed. She knew the dark forces were aligning in the UK and was proud at the possibility that her son was contributing to it – whatever 'it' would turn out to be.

She listened with a knowing smile as he moaned about Hermione's high standard when it came to sacrificial magic.

"But you set her on this path by allowing her to find her own balance. You must be patient, my little baby bat." She said, indulgence heavy on her voice, but completely missed by Herido, who just sulked at how difficult it was to humour his friends. Hermione would only sacrifice people whom she decided were deserving of death. She had no problem killing such people, but relied on Heri to find and hunt them down, when he was happy to simply sacrifice anyone he happened to come across. And then there was Neville, would refused to participate in any sacrificial magic at all, though he didn't object to the others partaking and enthusiastically embraced defensive and healing dark arts. Ron was only just getting used to going off campus alone or with his brothers to hunt and he'd had to take an entire week out of school to take Daphne to Milan as he'd promised. He'd made his own fun of course, but suspected 'earthquakes' aside, the week had been torture and he was beginning to question whether having friends was really worth it. It was the first time in years that he'd had to remind himself to welcome hardship and sorrow.

"How are things going with your professors?" Gomez pressed in an attempt to both distract Heri from the responsibility of his (newly discovered), friendships and to ensure his son was being treated well enough.

"Oh yes, darling, how about the nervous servant and the one with the handsome pallor and the long black, black hair." Gomez looked to his wife as though betrayed by her impressed tone. She took his face in her hand. "Querido." She reassured as she stroked his cheek. "I've been your since that first day you carved my name in your leg." The children merely rolled their eyes, but Heri was put at ease by the familiar display.

While his parents were otherwise engaged, he shared with the others his concerns about Snape.

"Boil him!" Grandmamma cried. "I'm sure he has enough in his system to make an interesting ingredient." She punctuated this with mad cackling, while uncle Fester suggested which potions might be most interesting to try out.

Wednesday advised he should confront the man immediately, before someone noticed something was going on between them. When Pugsley joined in with suggestions, Heri realised they were just trying to make him do something bad enough to get expelled. Pfft! Like he'd get caught.

In the end it only took another week of avoidance for him to decide to confront Snape.

He stayed back after potions class with a sigh. Might as well get it over with, he thought.

"You were dismissed Mr. Addams." The man said immediately after noticing Heri was still there, looking at him expectantly.

"I go where I like." He returned with a shrug.

Snape had had enough of the brat already.

"This is my classroom. Get out!" Heri was waiting for a hostile response, so no sooner had the words left the professor's lips that every table, bench and chair in the room was violently smashed and ripped apart behind him. To his credit, Snape recovered quickly, lowered his shield and rounded on Heri, looming over him threateningly. Heri merely folded his arms and raised an eyebrow in challenge. Snape couldn't understand how nobody had killed the annoying brat yet.

"Detention!" He declared with a scowl that ill-concealed his murderous intent. "All week!" Heri looked bored and Snape stepped back in a preventative measure. Perfected though his self-control was, he wasn't sure he would be able to stop himself if he just lifted his hand to the boy's neck and… "Starting tonight. You will return here and return everything to its prior condition." A second later he realised he didn't want the boy here at all.

"I'm busy." Heri informed him as though it were a trifling matter. The man's wand was drawn before Heri could finish the next sentence. "Now, I actually came to discuss how you've been ignoring…" Heri just managed to dodge a nasty hex, but was quietly impressed that Snape would attack him in the middle of school. A curse would have been more interesting, but it was a start. He quickly raised his own wand and shot out a curse, hoping the man would get the message and up the ante. To his disappointment though, Snape blocked it and but didn't parry. Time to change tact then.

"How dare you…" Snape started, but paused when Heri summoned a broken piece of metal, alert now for any physical attack.

"I'm sure you've seen this spell before?" Heri's stance was combat ready, but he spoke casually. "It rips limbs off larger objects with such force that the kinetic energy rebounds and snaps any larger pieces in two. It's more amusing as a form of execution, of course." Snape's scowl deepened with something between disgust and respect as he waited for Addams to get to the point. "My baby sister thinks it's a little too quick though, so I've been planning to experiment with it: see if I can slow the process down or even isolate it to fingers et cetera."

Snape stepped back up.

"I won't be threatened by a little boy!"

"Of course not." Heri conceded as he ran a finger along the mangled edge of metal. "Besides, you're a traitor," Snape was a little taken aback by the candour. "I'm sure you have a world of pain in your future. But there are billions of other people in the world. Your godson, for example." He continued with a sly smile. "Perhaps he would allow me to practise on him. I know how fond you are of him."

Snape was out and out appalled now. He didn't know what this thing in front of him was, but it wasn't a Potter. He could see that now. If anything it was more like a juvenile Voldemort. Terrifying.

"He thinks you're his friend!" He grasped to find some decency left in the boy.

"I am his friend." Heri defended, and he meant it completely. "This is why I'm sure he'll let me. Oh, I'm sure there would be begging involved," He batted the words away with a hand as though they were inconsequential. "But in the end he'd forgive me." Snape really was horrified now. The boy was a devil. He didn't know what had gotten into Addams today but he had to put a stop to it now. Then he remembered what the boy had said earlier; what had started all of this.

"You will report to the grounds keeper at 7pm and respectfully assist him until dismissed." He spoke in carefully measured sounds. Glaring down and continued: "You think I've been ignoring you? Well, boohoo." He sneered in derision. "If you are so very desperate for attention join the Quidditch team." Snape scoffed but also stopped talking in as natural a way as he could as his lungs became heavy. He didn't want the boy to know how constricting the air had become as dark magic pulsed from him, when it was so obvious that the child was trying to control his anger. Though he also couldn't help but feel a little curious as to how powerful this child's magic would be if completely released.

Both student and teacher stared at each other, both thinking that trying to reach the other was a pointless task. Herido's desire to hurt this man was rising, but he knew his own personality faults well enough and had promised himself he'd try to stop drawing his family into his fights – something that would no doubt happen if he was to fight in earnest with an accomplished wizard out in the open like this.

"I would appreciate it if you could stop drawing attention to the fact you might know something about me." He finally got out, realising that he hadn't actually achieved anything in this meeting. He had first thought that provoking the man would make him talk, to explain what on earth was going on in the man's head. It worked on most people, but it seemed Snape had an instinct for keeping things close to the chest. That was somewhat reassuring.

"I would appreciate you leaving my classroom." And the stare down continued.

"Hey, Uncle Sever…" Draco trailed off, only halfway through the door when he felt the cold tension in the room. "Erm…" He faltered, before forcing himself to straighten up. "Herido, you're still here?"

"He's all yours, Draco." Heri's eyes never left the professor's while he spoke and then finally turned and left.

His mood was soured and he just wanted to get out of the castle before he did something he might regret. By the time he had left the school, video called Wednesday, and sent his portrait of aunt Vendetta to Pugsley so he could join the call, he had calmed down somewhat, but Wednesday still noticed his dark eyes straight away.

"Did someone take your stuffed crocodile again?" She teased in the way that only siblings can.

"That was one time! I was a kid!" He grouched. "And Caligula was my favourite toy!" When they had all finished laughing at his expense, Heri told them of what had happened with Snape. His threat to Draco had been a bluff, but it was worth it to see the look of horror on his professor's face. He wouldn't try out untested experiments on his friends. That would be wrong, not to mention that not-randomly-killing-you was a perk of friendship, right? Maybe when he'd refined the spell a little…

"You over think, Herido." Pugsley offered as he ate something that looked suspiciously like tar. "If he annoyed you that much, just make him disappear." He always came up with most simple, yet efficient solutions. "Otherwise I'm sure he got the message."

"And if not, I'll come visit you and have a little chat with him." Wednesday offered enthusiastically.

"Or you could tell father that the man's a liability and let him deal with the situation." Wednesday didn't appreciate her eldest brother taking her fun away (even if it was only theoretical), and Heri was glad for Pugsley's sake that magic couldn't be sent through phones somehow.

Snape had gotten the message, though it wasn't the message Heri meant to send. Once he had calmed down he restored the classroom with a simple spell and started brewing – an activity that always helped him think. Addams' concern or arrogance or offence fell by the wayside in favour of focusing on one throw away comment the boy had made: that he was a traitor and would have to face up to that one of these days. He had to concentrate on not allowing his paranoia to consume him at the implications behind that statement, for example, that the boy somehow knew his former master was still around to claim his life, but instead thought about his current position in the upcoming war.

Maybe it was time to find out what was really going on with Quirrell.

* * *

Herido's detention with Hagrid didn't end up being bothersome in the least. The half giant had an innocence about him that was almost painful to see in a man his age, but at the same time, somewhat refreshing. More importantly than that however was the man's love for the more interesting creatures of the world. They chatted easily about the various beasts they had come across while they worked. Hagrid would bring the most wonderful cakes to snack on and Heri in turn provided a unique beverage to refresh them.

Eventually though, Hagrid changed the subject. He spoke of how so many of the students seemed to move to Herido's moods. Heri didn't see that at all.

"They just hear scary stories and react." He said dismissively. He wasn't sure if this was curiosity was coming from the man or from Dumbledore. Hagrid made no secret of his admiration and loyalty to the headmaster.

"I 'eard what ya friends have been up to, ganging up on others… Why'd ya do it?" Heri opened his mouth to answer, but the huge man continued. "Not that I'm judging mind, though tha' don't seem right t'me," again Heri tried to speak but was cut off. Instead of annoying him though, Heri smiled at the fool. "'Cause schools are strange places and ya never really know what's going on between the students." He waited a beat to make sure the man had finished.

"May I answer now?" He asked cheekily. "Me and my friends haven't done anything. Really!" Sometimes he wondered whether it might have been better to have killed his upperclassman instead. He'd certainly been a nuisance this year. "They made a suggestion to Flint (and a few others), and he agreed with them. I don't know how I can be held responsible for, Draco say, voicing an opinion. I'm a first year student, not a dictator." Hagrid nodded earnestly as he considered this.

"Can I trust you, Herido?" Heri raised an eyebrow. Trust? They'd only known each other three days.

"That's a rather open question isn't it? Can you trust me with your pets, say? Yes, absolutely. Can you trust me not to steal these divine rock cakes?" He punctuated the question by summoning a cake with a smirk. "Probably not."

Hagrid let out a hearty laugh and nodded.

"Aye. You seem like a decent sort though." Herido drew a blank as he tried to imagine how the man had reached _that_ conclusion. "Anyone who likes animals is ok in my book." Oh, Heri thought, well… no, he still couldn't comprehend the man's thinking. Still, whatever crazy reasoning the man used, Heri was rather fond of him, and was instantly interested when he mentioned winning a dragon egg.

Wednesday was gonna be so jealous.

* * *

"He can't keep a dragon at school!" Draco proclaimed after he'd shared the good news with everyone that evening.

"Who's got a dragon?" Asked Ron, who'd been ignoring everyone in favour of trying to sleep at the table until he'd heard the word 'dragon'.

"Nobody! Read those potions notes!" Hermione answered right away, leaving no room for argument. Ron sent her a scowl but flipped the notebook open anyway.

"Hey, he's a grown man. He knows the laws in Britain and has decided to ignore them. It's his choice. I can't wait to have a dragon on campus!" Heri was truly looking forward to this. Since they were able to talk, all the Addams children had been begging their parents for a pet dragon, but Gomez and Morticia had been adamant in their refusal. Something about living in a muggle neighbourhood or some such flimsy excuse. Heri however suspected that the real reason was more common place: he'd once heard his parents telling uncle Fester that they didn't want their children to be spoilt. At least now at school he could have what his folks had so callously deprived him of at home.

"If you know it's against the law, surely you know that it'll be taken away as soon as it's discovered?" Hermione was a puzzled at how Heri thought this dragon could become a permanent resident at the school, while Draco carried on stressing how dangerous it could be.

"Is peroxide particularly flammable?" Heri couldn't help but ask, but only got blank looks from the blonde in response and could only let out a surprised 'oh' at the shocking revelation that that was Draco's natural hair colour. "Well, never mind." Hermione and Daphne broke down in laughter at that, causing Draco to scowl.

"What are you laughing at?" He demanded.

That night, seven Slytherins and four Gryffindors all piled into Hagrid's hut. The host was at first rightfully shocked to have so many guests, but was easily reassured that all present where trustworthy and soon was delighted to chat away with the lively students. It had been a long time since his home had been so full of life.

It was a long night waiting for the dragon to hatch, but conversation flowed free and easy. At some point the subject of Harry Potter came up. Heri was surprised it hadn't been raised sooner, so didn't react at all.

"We were supposed to go to school with him, you know?" Ron informed the others eagerly. "Mum told me. He would have been in our year and obviously in my House." Heri just smiled and quietly listened.

"Good riddance, I say." Said Draco confidently, which instantly sparked heated debate.

"'Ey, 'ey, now." Hagrid tried to calm the room. "Good or bad, 'e were just a baby, ya know?" The disapproving look he was giving the Slytherins told them how good he thought that baby was.

"Bah!" Draco returned.

"It's true!" Hagrid looked away sadly. "I saw 'im, ya know? 'Arry. The night he defeated you-know-who." He spoke quietly, almost reverently. He'd stolen everyone's attention though, including Heri's. So this man knew him, did he? "'E was so small."

"A lot of people don't even think he was real." Goyle challenged while trying to chew through a cake. "They say he was made up to cover Dumbledore's war crimes." Heri wanted to laugh, but stayed quiet.

"It is awfully convenient how he died and all." Draco joined in, hoping to discredit Harry Potter and Dumbledore.

"Tha's a lie, that is! I'm telling you, I held 'im in my arms. Took him to 'is new home. Poor littl' tyke." Herido was finally moved by that information.

"You took him to his aunt's?" His question was harsh, but he didn't care. Hagrid didn't notice that Heri had knowledge he shouldn't, but did pick up the hostile tone and even he could see the sudden ice in his eyes and it chilled him to the core in a way he couldn't explain.

"Well, yeh. Dumbledore trusted me, ya see, to bring him…"

"To the place he died." Heri finished without mercy, even as Hagrid's face dropped at the accusation. "And I suppose if your precious leader had told you to dispose of the child you would have done that too?" Hagrid looked confused, knowing he was being accused of something bad, but not sure what it could be.

Heri stood and walked to the fire, staring into the flames as he thought. They seemed to grow under his gaze.

"Well, what do you plan to do once the dragon is too big to stay indoors?" Hermione tried to change the subject unhelpfully.

"Even the Iceman was protective of children, and he used to have rats eat people alive." Heri muttered, before turning a glare over his shoulder and pinning Hagrid. "Do you get many rats round here?" Hermione signed and started to think of how they were supposed to dispose of a man this size.

The others weren't sure what had set off Herido, but Daphne decided it was best to try again where the other girl had failed.

"Draco, you have the room, why don't you take the dragon?" She knew the Malfoys well enough to know they would never keep a dragon, but the absurd suggestion did its job in provoking the boy.

"Are you mad? Of course not!" He shuddered. "Malfoys do not share their home with beasts thank you very much."

While they others settled into a strained back and forth, Hermione made what she thought was a subtle move to Heri.

"There's no issue there." She said quietly whilst crouching down to inspect the egg, refusing to look up even as she felt those sharp black eyes piecing her. "The man has no guile. I'm sure he was doing what he believed was best." He still didn't respond and she still daren't look up, feeling more uneasy and regretting her intervention the longer she talked. "Ok, maybe he is guilty of ignorance, but really, what can you expect from a follower of Dumbledore?" She tried to joke.

The silence between the two stretched on as Herido tried to kill his rising ire.

"I'm fine, 'Mione." Heri finally broke his silence. He'd been prepared to meet people from his distant past whilst in Scotland, but didn't like being blindsided like that and not being able to react. He knew it wasn't fair to think that way, that if he'd known of Hagrid's involvement before he would have accepted it already, but he'd come to like this strange, big, friendly giant and felt a little betrayed. Maybe if he had some sort of punishment, Heri could feel placated.

"They wouldn't object, by the way." She looked up to him with a wry smile, relieved now that he'd responded. "If you took the big guy out now? They wouldn't object." He smiled.

Before he could respond, the egg cracked, and he was too selfish to deny himself such a rare experience as seeing a newly hatched dragon and buried his resentment for the time being.

 **Thank you to all who read and review. Adore you all xx**


	15. Chapter 15

"You're in a good mood tonight." Ron huffed as they walked towards the forest.

Taking a deep breath, Heri rolled his neck and looked up to the resplendent moon. It was a good night for a walk in the forest: there was something twisted and unnatural disturbing the local wildlife – it looked promising.

"Midnight; moonlight; surrounded by death." Heri replied with something akin to nostalgia in his voice. Everyone stopped to look questioningly.

"Ain't no one died yet, lad." Filch spat as he turned back to locate Hagrid. For a moment he thought he heard the Addams boy reply 'not yet', but he was experienced enough to know that the night played its tricks on the mind and so ignored it. He was used to being the one to scare students, not the other way around. "It's a pity they let the old punishments die out… time was you lot would be hanging in chains for the next few days." He gave them an eerie smile. "I still keep them well oiled, just in case." He started to revel in his victory as he looked at the pale, wide eyed face of Longbottom, but then he caught the excited gleam in Addams' eye.

"Do you now?" The asked in a manner that made the caretaker want to deny it. He'd never known a question of curiosity to sound so threatening. Thankfully the large group reached Hagrid before he had time to respond.

Hagrid, himself, appeared to still be in mourning over the loss of his beloved dragon, and were Herido a more compassionate soul, he could sympathise completely, as it were he ignored the man, gazing past him instead to try and discern what caused the forest to seem so very quiet tonight. As he looked out into the darkness he couldn't sense a thing. Very odd.

Draco scowled at the ground. He'd long since stopped bemoaning how insulting this was to his pride as a Malfoy as it did no good at all. He would never understand Heri's reasoning when it came to detention. He'd said that if you were caught, you had to be ready to face the consequences. Bah! That was all well and good, but on this occasion they were doing something to be praised, not punished! Really, he couldn't believe he'd come to be in this situation from being so selfless. He just hoped his godfather wasn't reporting all this back to Malfoy senior.

A few nights prior, they had all been caught by Snape sneaking into the castle a few short hours before sunrise. Draco didn't know what the disgusting half-breed had done to fall from Herido's good graces, but it turned out that the withdrawal of his favour didn't extend to the man/beast's animals and Heri had eventually agreed with the Weasleys' ridiculous plan to smuggle his dragon out of Hogwarts before it could be discovered by those less kindly disposed.

If he had to be rational, he supposed it was a good thing that Snape was the one to discover them out of bed – one night's detention and no questions asked was getting off easy and he knew it, but still, all the purebloods present at least agreed that going hunting in the forest was beneath them.

Still another thing occurred to Draco as the half-giant prattled on about unicorns; he wasn't particularly bothered about heading into the Forbidden Forest. A few months ago he would have been terrified by the prospect, even with so many friends around him. But no, now he was actually looking forward to it. He'd grown stronger since meeting Herido Addams, so much so that he hardly recognized the boy who's kissed his mother goodbye at the end of summer, though some things remained. He was still his father's son.

During the first weeks of September, he'd written almost daily updates to his father, eager and enthusiastic to share how close he was getting to Addams and how annoying it was to have to play nice with Hermione, but since and with the exception of the events of Halloween, he'd been avoiding the man as much as possible. Even during Christmas break, he'd only told him the bare minimum: that he, Blaise, Daphne and Herido were tight, but nothing of the Gryffindors or Hermione. He'd made sure to spend a large portion of the holiday away from home, and hell would freeze over before he shared where he'd spent so many of those days.

And of course, he mentioned nothing of the bits of dark magic the group had been learning. After killing the centaur, he'd had something of a crisis of conscience and reached out to his mother, but he'd come through that surprisingly quickly and as far as he knew she hadn't broken his confidence. His father was already pressing him to invite Heri and his family over so they could be introduced, he couldn't imagine how persistent the man would get if he discovered he was being helped in the dark arts by an Addams. Sometimes he felt like he was being torn between his loyalties to his father and to his friends. Sometimes he felt like he was protecting Herido from his father's manipulations, but usually he felt like he was protecting his father from, well, Herido.

Draco was violently pulled from his thoughts as a chain pulled taut around his ankle, sending him flying onto his back before being dragged along the rough ground. It took him a moment to recover his breath before he could follow the chain back to George's wand, the boy himself pulling him into the forest with a grin.

"Oh, looks like he's back with us!" The red head teased. Ok, he supposed he had been a little lost in thought for a moment there.

He scowled even as he was pulled along and brought out his own wand. He only knew one rudimentary cutting spell. He didn't think it was strong enough to break the chain so he aimed it right at George's wand hand. Fred was quick to step in with a shield, which saved his twin's hand, but forced him to relinquish control of the spell holding Draco. As soon as he was free the blonde raised his wand to the pair, his dark smile promising retribution. They took one look at each other and then shouted 'run!' before darting into the shadows. Undeterred, he gave chase.

"Get back here!"

With his own smile, Blaise pulled out his wand and set out after them.

"I have your back, Draco!" He cried. Two on two was only fair after all. He fired a spell at Fred, just as he disappeared behind a tree, the bark of which was left boiling. Ron looked at the ruined bark in horror and joined the fray.

"Hey!" He called. "Leave them alone!" And with that he too disappeared from sight.

"'Ey!" Ey!" Hagrid called, fearful to have so many children running about the forest while some unknown foe was lurking nearby. "You lot come back 'ere!"

"Honestly!" Hermione shook her head. "They're like a group of children."

"Boys will be boys." Daphne shrugged, though she could only imagine the look on Mrs Malfoy and Zabini's face if they could see their sons now.

"Well, it's tiresome." Hermione insisted.

As they were talking, Blaise's spell had eaten its way through the tree trunk and the sycamore began a slow tumble to the ground, unsettling the resting birds within. As the small flock took to the sky with cries loud enough to rouse the other sleeping residents of the forest, a stray shot came from within the darkness and hit Hermione square in the face.

"Oh 'Mione, that's a fine look." Herido bit his lip to supress his laughter, but it was a lost cause and when she turned to Daphne for support, the blonde couldn't stop her own breakdown. The spell had obviously been from one of the twins, and had transformed Hermione's nose into that of an elephant seal.

Forgetting all about her supposed maturity, she let out a cry of frustration and charged into the forest for her own revenge, lifting her wand to let out a flurry of tiny birds, which promptly burst into flames as they set out to find their targets.

Hagrid immediately set off after her, rather outraged at the damage that was being done to the forest. Heri thought the staff had become rather complacent – leaving this man alone with so many 'troublemakers'.

Before Hagrid could reach the forest however, he suddenly stopped, his feet frozen as though nailed to the ground beneath him. Try as he might they wouldn't shift an inch.

"Hagrid, just let them be." Heri said, gaining the man's attention.

"I can't." As if to make his point, a small explosion occurred somewhere not far from them. "And don't think I don't know that those last few spells were dark! You can't go around…" The dark look on Heri's face made him come up short. He couldn't move and it was obvious that things could get really bad for him really quickly.

"Hagrid," Heri started with an imperious seriousness, "You _need_ to give us this." He stared down at the boy and could feel the all the cold of the night. No, it was more than that. It was like the all-consuming dread you feel when you walk through a graveyard at midnight. When he tried to respond, his voice caught in his throat, but Heri spoke again before he could have anyway. "Believe me." It sounded like a promise. And really it was, for Heri only needed the slightest reason to take out his former friend. Hagrid nodded, suspecting that he was walking on a knife-edge, about to fall off. For a few moments Heri just stared, cold sweat clinging to Hagrid like a death shroud, until the boy's face suddenly broke into a huge smirk. "Great, then let's go unicorn-hunter hunting!"

The remaining four finally made their own way into the forest, but Hagrid quickly offered to check down a different path, leaving Heri, Daphne and Neville alone. The forest was certainly more alive than it had been half an hour before. Bird sang in frustration as they continued to be disturbed by random shouts and bangs. At one point Heri smiled when he heard one of the Weasley twins making werewolf calls. They really were a blast.

Voldemort could hear the racket being made as he greedily drank from the dying creature. He absolutely deplored that he'd been reduced to this, but secretly thought this unicorn blood was damn good. It was probably the reason drinking it held such dire consequences; otherwise such a delicacy would have seen them extinct by now. Maybe it was just down to the fact he was disembodied.

He clenched his teeth as he heard them getting closer. Tonight's meal had been ruined entirely. If only he had a body he could teach these children some manners. Oh well, not long now, he thought.

Heri froze as he stepped onto the crisp ground of a moon kissed hollow. They had found the thing that was hurting the unicorns, and it was a… Shade? He honestly didn't know. He'd never met an unfriendly Shade, though that might have had more to do with the respect his family name demanded. This thing though… it was pernicious, deadly. And as soon as he glanced up he could feel the power radiating off it. He'd never known a Shade like it and had to wander if it was something different altogether.

For the first time in a long time he wasn't entirely sure how he should be attacking this thing if it proved to be unfriendly. It was rather exciting.

He ignored the sounds of his friends as they played not too far away: 'you absolute arse', 'that's my head, you know? It's not detachable!', 'you look better that way!'

"How do you do?" Heri finally said, his guard was fully raised, but it never hurt to be polite. The Shade stood to its full height as the creature at its feet (?), breathed its last.

He couldn't imagine the glittering sliver substance tasted very good, the Shade was probably only drinking it for the curse. He remembered he had something that might take the edge off.

"Oh," He exclaimed, his classmates staying still as statues as he took a step forward. "I'm sure I have Shade snacks in here somewhere." He dug into his top pocket and pulled out a stick of dynamite, before shaking his head and tossing it away. Next came the sun bleached femur from a human male and he let out a gentle 'oops' before tossing that too. He didn't know that was in there and had blamed Pugsley when uncle Droop's thigh had gone missing. Oh well, he was looking for asphodel and wormwood, not family members. He paused for a moment to consider the possibility that he'd been smoking it, but soon dismissed the thought and continued his search. Next came a bag of unmixed sulphur and he remembered that testing the strength of the castle walls had been on his to-do list for a while now.

He thought he'd finally found what he was looking for, but was distracted when Neville spoke up.

"H, Heri?" The terrified Gryffindor looked as though he were about to faint as he raised his wand. Heri looked back round to see that the Shade had moved much closer during his search. Too close for comfort.

Voldemort wanted to laugh as the Longbottom boy threatened him. A bigger part of him though was furious that the pathetic whelp would dare raise his wand to the great Lord Voldemort and he let that rage guide him.

Everything seemed to happen at once after that.

As the Shade lunged forward, a pain like nothing Heri had felt before exploded in his head. It was so intense he was temporarily blinded, bright white lights expanding continually before his eyes. He squeezed his head as he attempted to focus on his breathing to ground him and give him control of his body once more. He'd found his way through pain before, at least enough to fight. This was just another pain; he just needed a minute…

"Heri!" Daphne cried in horror as she watched the boy she thought to be indestructible fall to the ground. Well, he managed to catch himself before he crumpled completely, but it was still disconcerting. She dived in front of him to shield him from the oncoming… thing, but at the same time tortured cries came from above and several of the displaced birds fell to the ground, having caught fire at some point. One landed in Heri's discard pile.

An explosion larger than any so far this night sent Daphne to the far side of the hollow, and as pain ripped through what was surely a broken arm she tried to make her eyes focus. She couldn't hear clearly; it felt like her head was in a box and she worried she'd been deafened, but just as this thought started taking route, all her senses returned twofold. She shook her head and looked up to see the reassuring grin of Herido Addams, his hand extended to help her up. She didn't waste time wondering how he had escaped the blast.

Once the smoke cleared it became obvious that the creature was gone, and the eruption had gathered everyone to the clearing. She looked across to see Draco and Fred holding Neville, who had a nasty looking cut on his head, upright.

Hagrid arrived a second later, loud as ever as he tried to make sure everyone was ok. The children though ignored him. They looked expectantly to Heri, waiting for him to set the tone of what was going to happen next.

He helped Daphne towards the others and his grin broke to reflect an excitement that bordered on mania.

"Holy shit." Was apparently his conclusion. He sent the briefest of glimpses at Hagrid before looking back to the others and nodding toward the castle.

* * *

When Neville awoke later that day, he took a moment to focus on the faces of his friends. They were scattered about the room, most lounging on hospital beds. He'd always heard that Mme Pomfrey didn't like malingerers, but from what he could tell, Daphne and Herido were the only others injured, the others were just hanging around.

"He lives!" One of the twins cried with flourish when he noticed the Gryffindor was awake. Soon everyone was crowded around his bed. He'd felt acceptance from these students since that night in Gryffindor Tower, but it was only now that he looked at them all, obviously relieved that he was ok, that he truly realised that they were his friends, and the best friends he'd even had.

He remembered what had happened last night and let out a laugh. It had been an uncanny chain of events to say the least.

"You are insanely lucky!" He told Herido, who smirked back at him, bandage around his head but otherwise looking fine.

"I've been told." Heri tried to look thoughtful, but was fooling no one: he was as confident as ever. "Lady Luck does seem to favour us Addams'."

"What _was_ that, last night?" Neville had to know. Whatever it was, he didn't want to ever deal with it again. Hermione, nose back to normal, stepped up to respond. He was nervous as he looked at the others.

"Herido is under the impression," Said boy gave her a flat look, but she continued regardless, "that that was what is left of Lord Voldemort." Neville couldn't help it – he drew in a breath so quickly and so sharply that he started coughing.

"Yeh," Blaise said with surprising sympathy, "That was pretty much our reaction."

"I mean, we all grew up listening to the legends…" Draco began.

"The horror stories." The twins countered as one. Draco ignored them.

"But to think he was in the same forest as us. It's unbelievable." Draco's mind was working double time to decide what he should do with this information. Once again it came down to his father or his friends.

"It's terrifying!" Ron said with a scowl.

"Oh come on!" Blaise raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "You're super dark now. You've killed people! More people than any of us!"

"Except me." Heri interjected.

"Except Herido." Blaise corrected without missing a beat.

"Yeah well, shut up." Was Ron's answer.

"As eloquent as ever, Ronald." He simply glared at Hermione in response to her sarcasm. She was muggleborn! She should have been on his side!

While his friends settled into a discussion about the merits of Voldemort's resurgence, Heri came to his own realisation. If Voldemort's spirit had been so powerful, once he was restored to life he'd be breath-taking.

And Herido wasn't anywhere near ready for him yet.

 **Shorter chapter, but hopefully worth it. This is what happens when you are home alone on a Friday night :) xx**


	16. Chapter 16

"Why is it that I am always hauled in here? Is it because I'm American? Because I'm sure there are laws about that sort of thing." Herido found himself once more in Dumbledore's office, this time joined by the old man, Snape, Quirrell and Hagrid, the latter looking more and more uncomfortable the longer Heri looked at him. There was nothing threatening about the look, but having Addams' constant attention was unnerving, never mind that the boy never seemed to blink.

"Not at all Mr Addams, I believe it has more to do with your involvement in so many worrying events… Herido?" Dumbledore tried to bring the boys focus to him, but he just kept staring at the half-giant.

"Professor?" Heri returned to show he was listening. The headmaster shifted ever so slightly.

"Hagrid, thank you for your time, I believe we can take it from here." Relieved by the dismissal, he quickly nodded and made his way to the door, feeling eyes on him the whole time, and just before leaving he turned to look into the room once more to find Herido turned in his seat staring straight at him, those wide excited eyes and ever so slight smile making his blood freeze.

As soon as the man left Heri sat back with a quiet chuckle to himself before looking up to Dumbledore, who sighed heavily.

"Hagrid is a good man." He said gravely. He couldn't imagine this boy harming a member of staff… oh who was he kidding, he absolutely could, but he hoped he wasn't so stupid as to try, nevertheless he did have a duty of care to them all and had to make sure Hagrid would be safe from any retribution.

"I think you're confused; Hagrid's a _nice_ man. 'Good' is an altogether more elusive creature. Don't you find that?" The three men watched the boy. Snape was here as his Head of House and Quirrell as DADA professor. Dumbledore took a breath to respond before snapping his mouth closed for a moment. The boy had previously scoffed at any discussion of good and bad: that he was now bringing it up could only be meant as a distraction, and he'd nearly fallen for it, eager as he was to engage the boy on the subject.

"It would have been negligent of him not to report what he knew of last night's events, especially as students were harmed." Heri just waved his hand as if to say '…and?' as though he didn't even know why this was being discussed. Dumbledore decided to try a more straightforward approach and hardened his voice. "Hagrid claims you threatened him, should he reveal what you were all up to last night."

Heri's face was the picture of offence.

"That's a vicious rumour and a wicked lie!" He cried. "There was an explosion in the forest last night; the poor man must have hit his head. So sad to see. It's funny what a simple blow to the head can do to a person, isn't it?" Heri forgot about being offended as he contemplated this with a dark smile. "Confusion, memory loss, even changes to personality. If the damage is extensive enough you can completely lose your mind…"

"Herido." The old man interrupted: he couldn't let this go on. "Hagrid is fine. He has been checked over by Mme Pomfrey and given the all-clear." Heri just continued to smile.

"Well, sometimes symptoms don't manifest until a while after the blow." Voldemort wanted to applaud the boy. This eleven year old was threatening Dumbledore's friend to his face in a way that precluded accusation. "Perhaps you could enlighten me as to what I have been accused of saying?"

"Perhaps we could move on, Headmaster?" Snape suggested, thinking that this was going nowhere fast. Dumbledore was just going to have to make provision to keep Hagrid away from the boy.

"Very well, we'll put that to one side for now. It would appear that you and your friends ran amok in the forest, damaging both flora and fauna with the use of dark spells."

"Let me put your mind at ease: I didn't even draw my wand last night." And therefore can't be held responsible, he left unsaid.

"Here in Britain we have very strict laws restricting the use of dark spells…"

"Mmm, in America too." Herido added helpfully, already seeing where this was going and shutting down the man's case as he made it.

"I don't believe they gained knowledge of the spells they were using last night on their own…"

"You're probably right. They aren't that proactive, except maybe Hermione." Heri interrupted again.

"Mr Addams!" Dumbledore was getting tired of this already. "Have you been teaching your friends dark magic?" Heri responded with a single laugh, before waving a hand dismissively.

"I have exams coming up. Hermione has every spare moment of our time blocked out for studying." Ok, so those two things weren't necessarily linked, but the implication was that they were.

"Have you been _studying_ dark magic together?" Damn it, he should have known the man couldn't be thrown off so easily.

"Were the spells used last night particularly dark?" Heri directed his question to Quirrell.

"I-It w-wasn't clear what had b-b-een used specifically. There w-was a re-remnant of light and, and dark magic in the a-area."

"So," Heri made a point to look thoughtful, channelling Columbo. "It might have been that while they were all playing, some of them got carried away and strayed into using darker hexes and such to prank their friends? Such things aren't illegal are they?"

"It was darker than that, Mr Addams, I would not have made issue of it if I thought it were merely…"

"Did Hagrid tell you there is something in the forest that's been hunting Unicorns? Could it not be that this, no doubt dark creature, left trace magics behind?" Heri was enjoying this greatly. The old man's grandfatherly façade, not that he used much of it with Heri anyway, had been completely stripped away during this conversation. He was mildly surprised it was so easy to rile him.

"Hagrid claims to have seen several spells cast that were…"

"And is the grounds keeper an expert on dark magic, like Professor Quirrell?"

"Well no, but it doesn't take an expert to see…"

"Because the man doesn't even have a wand, which suggests to me that he never finished school, and honestly professor, having spent a little time with him, I'm not sure his strength lies in traditional magics." Dumbledore's jaw was set in a hard line by now.

"Mr Addams, if you could stop interrupting we…"

"Ok." Heri crossed his arms and looked down to the side in a purposely childish jester.

"If you could stop interrupting, perhaps we could move on to…"

"It's just that I'm feeling a little persecuted here." Heri muttered to himself, but loud enough for everyone to hear. Quirrell had to bite his tongue hard enough to make it bleed. He'd been nervous about attending a meeting that could be expose him, but this was brilliant. Herido could easily cry persecution at this point, and anyone hearing the previous conversation would agree with him.

Snape could see how annoyed his employer was getting and couldn't fail to notice his terse words. It was only his brilliant Occlumency skills that prevented him from laughing. He couldn't even think about how he should still be mad at the boy.

Dumbledore had to take a long steadying breath. To think that he'd once thought the boy was easy to get on with.

"You discovered a dead unicorn," He was all business now. "Did you see the creature that attacked it?"

"No, I didn't see any creature." Voldemort decided he liked this boy; he hadn't had this much fun in forever. And nobody even died.

"It's strange how none of your friends could remember what happened."

"Ah, see! Blows to the head are tricky."

"What caused the explosion?"

"That was a simple accident. I was looking for snacks and carelessly discarded several items in my search. The dynamite caps caught fire, the dynamite exploded" Ah so the boy was capable of giving a straight answer.

"You must surely know that weapons are strictly prohibited at Hogwarts." Dumbledore saw an opportunity here. It was an obvious breach of school rules.

"It's not a weapon, it's a construction aid."

"And did you believe you would be doing much construction at Hogwarts? Did you not think dynamite would have been on the list if it was needed?" He spoke slowly now to stop himself shouting.

"I wasn't aware of the entire Hogwarts curriculum, nor whether any time would be set aside for personal projects; it never hurts to be prepared."

The headmaster took moment to think. Were this any other student he would simply expel him, but he really couldn't avoid to start a fight with the Addams family on inference and hear-say. He would never have support for such an endeavour for a start. On top of that two of his friends had parents on the school board that would no doubt take advantage of the situation, stepping in on Herido's behalf to earn favour with his parents. He couldn't really see an expulsion holding.

"Severus, would you take Mr Addams back to his dorm."

* * *

Snape was the one to break the silence as they walked to the dungeons.

"I thought it might interest you to know that your friends' wands were tested to discover the last spells cast." Heri looked askance.

"Oh?"

"Eight lumos."

"Yes, well, that makes sense since they were walking in a forest at night." He smiled at the thought of his friends conspiring to hide evidence. Snape smirked down at him. Like those idiots would even consider the possibility of their wands being checked.

When they reached the entrance to the common room, Snape took Heri's upper arm, causing the boy to raise an eyebrow in an 'are-you-mad?' way.

"Don't expect me to cover for you again." Heri's eyes widened as the man turned and left. Well damn.

Even Draco shared Heri's surprise when he shared what Snape had done for them, but all of his friends were more shocked that their little adventure in the woods resulted in no consequences.

"I told you," Heri said, "punishments are only for getting caught."

* * *

Heri sat in an armchair before the roaring fire of the common room, a package from home to his right. He'd been sitting in the same position for over an hour now, not that any of his house mates had attempted to rouse him. All his friends had been rounded up by Hermione to study, and though they moaned, now that exams were upon them, they were glad of all the extra effort they'd put in.

He was staring at a coin hovering a few inches above his right palm, flicking it with his thumb every now and then to make it spin.

He just couldn't decide what to do about Voldemort.

His initial reaction to the idea of the Dark Lord's imminent return had been burning excitement. Really, he was overjoyed the man would be rising once more while he was in the country to witness it. He could only assume it would be massively entertaining, especially if his suspicions about his sanity were right. They'd be lucky if anyone in the UK was left standing.

But then he started to think about how things would progress. At some point he'd have to give asylum to most of his friends and that would be a bore. More importantly though, he would only be able to watch. He wasn't ready to play on the same field as Voldemort and if he couldn't play, he didn't think anyone else should either.

It all came down to whether his impatience was stronger than his desire to be involved. It was a maddening decision and he couldn't even ask his brother and sister for advice because he already knew they would want Voldemort set loose just to see where the pieces fell.

Oh, but Pugsley had already helped, Heri realised. He'd told him he thought too much.

He flipped the coin with his thumb once more, only this time he let it fly up and caught it easily. He didn't need to agonise about what to do, he'd let luck decide. He lifted his hand to reveal heads.

* * *

"Heri, what's with the box?" Daphne asked at breakfast a few weeks later. The wooden object the size of a shoe box had arrived just before the start of exams and now he was waiting for the mail to come to send it back. Heri never had to go the owlery to send letters – one of the Addams birds always seemed to know when it was needed and came to him. She wondered why he was sending it back at all – why not wait until they all went home and take it himself?

"Isn't that one of Thing's boxes?" Ron asked. "Is he here?"

"Hmm," Heri replied. "It's a Vanishing Box." At the blank looks he continued, seeing no harm in it. "It's like a vanishing cabinet, but much smaller. Thing has a whole network of them at home, it enables him to move around the house quickly."

"But why do you have one here?" Hermione asked. She was probably the only other person present who knew what a Vanishing Cabinet was, and that was only because she'd researched Thing's boxes after her stay with the Addams'.

"Oh, it just seemed like the easiest way of getting the Philosopher's Stone out of the castle." Neville spat a spray of milk clear across the table and the others were speechless for a moment, before all taking at once.

"What?"

"The Philosopher's Stone?"

"What do you mean?"

"How could you go down there without us?! What else was there?" Draco was actually very upset about this. Yes, he'd figured out what the three-headed dog was guarding after ruminating on the whispers between Hermione and Herido way back before Halloween.

"Wait! Is that why Dumbledore has been so distracted lately?" Blaise asked, looking to the head table and the tired looking headmaster.

Dumbledore was indeed disturbed. He'd set up several monitoring wards around the Stone, just to give him a heads-up should anyone find their way to it, but something went wrong. His alarms had indeed gone off and he rushed to intercept whoever was down there, only he arrived to find the place empty and the Stone gone with no clue as to who had taken it. A thorough search of the castle and its lands had been arranged using every method he knew of to locate the damn thing, but it was truly gone. Upon further investigation it seemed that nobody had been in or out of the castle at the time and nobody was acting any differently. To say he'd been embarrassed by the whole saga was an understatement.

* * *

"Professor? You asked to see me?" Heri enter the DADA classroom to find Quirrell pacing, a little hunched over and clearly in some pain. At hearing the boy enter, he turned to look at him with something like desperation.

"Addams," well, something had changed. "It's been a while since we had a chat."

"Oh, I wasn't aware you'd missed me." He sat on one of the front row desks and watched the nervous wreck of a man for a moment before deciding to be honest. It was almost the end of the year after all. "In truth, I rather thought our talks had run their course. I was enthralled by what you had to share about your master, but you, yourself are rather average. No offence." The man grimaced. "Although, you look rather ill right now. What have you been up to?" Maybe the man had something of interest to add after all.

"Sometimes," he said, looking more subdued with every word, "I find it hard to follow my master's instructions – he is a great wizard and I am weak – "

Heri nodded in earnest. "Exactly my point. You alone bore me." Quirrell shivered.

"Ah, but I am never alone. I have let my master down many times. He has had to be very hard on me." He looked up at Herido with a wonderfully haunting gaze. "He does not forgive mistakes easily." Damn it! Heri thought, it was like the man was purposefully reminding him of how awesome Voldemort was just to make him question his actions.

"Do tell." Heri eventually decided he might as well sit back and enjoy torturing himself with regret. There was nothing to be done about it now.

Unfortunately, Quirrell didn't seem to want to entertain today.

"There's no time for that now Addams, tell me, do you have the Stone?" It wasn't like he didn't know the question was coming.

"What Stone?" No! Voldemort thought – it was funny with Dumbledore, but he was not about to play this game with the boy! His high voice broke like wind chill through the classroom.

"Let me speak to him… face to face…" Herido watched with growing anticipation as Quirrell reached up and began to unwrap his turban – the professor had been victim of his master's wrath since learning the Stone was gone and was not about to disobey such a simple order.

Heri broke into a wide grin when the… face, of Voldemort was revealed. Two faces on one head! The man really was a character!

"Herido Addams…" the face whispered.

"Lord Voldemort." Heri stood to greet the man; it was only polite after all. "Wait, have you been there this whole time?"

"Yes… see what I have become?"

"So cool." Heri said quietly, though Voldemort heard and was a tad confused – he hadn't been expecting that reaction, even from Addams.

"Once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own… so why don't you just hand it over?" Voldemort really was an evil git, this was so difficult, but Heri had flipped a coin and it defeated the object if you went against its decision.

"I don't have the Stone, sir." He said with a shrug.

"Liar!" Voldemort snarled suddenly, surprising Heri who thought they were having a pleasant enough conversation. Heri's eyes watered at the sudden pain that flared to life behind his scar, but this time he just about managed to stay upright. "I know you have it! Give it to me, and together we can take this world for the Dark!"

"Truly, I don't." Heri insisted, his voice a little shaky, which Voldemort mistook for dishonesty and order Quirrell to seize him.

The pain became blinding once again as Quirrell advanced on him, and as Heri raised a hand to bat the man away wandlessly, his wrist was caught. Both Herido and Quirrell let out a shocked cry from the pain they felt from that simple action and jumped a few paces away from each other. The pain in Heri's head was much more manageable at this distance.

"Ok," He started with a ragged breath as he looked up into the furious eyes of Voldemort, "I think we need to establish a no touching rule!"

"Seize him! SEIZE HIM!" Voldemort shrieked again. "I need that Stone!" Heri easily avoided being touched this time, having worked through enough of the pain to move. If he'd had any remaining doubts about the man's sanity, they were well and truly crushed now. If Voldemort were thinking clearly, surely he'd know the pathetic wizard had no chance against him… or maybe that was Heri's own pride talking.

"Master, I cannot…"

"Then kill him you fool!" Ok, no, definitely crazy. Seeing no way of talking this out, Heri decided to make the most of it and took out his wand – time to practice what he'd learnt this year.

"Spongify!" Heri looked at the rubbery floor and shook his head. He could admit he hadn't thought that one through. But, he thought as he effortlessly dodged an attack from Quirrell, there wasn't really much Hogwarts taught that helped when being attacked by a homicidal maniac.

Quirrell advanced on him again, but this time Heri held his ground and brought up his wand. He watched his former professor do the same and smiled. Heri wouldn't block, chicken was always fun.

Heri was quicker off the mark in casting – grateful for his upbringing that gave him such an edge over an experienced wizard.

"Diffindo!" Heri sent an overpowered severing charm at the man before the words of his killing curse had even finished forming. He walked over to Quirrell's head, several feet away from his body, watched in fascination as the lips continued to move in a manner Heri thought resembled a fish and decided he was altogether pleased with the situation. Ok, technically the spell had come from Hermione making him read ahead, but it was still a nice light Hogwarts friendly spell. His repertoire of light spells paled into insignificance in relation to his other magics, but wanted to have it all and this proved that he could use those lighter spells and wand magic just as easily as any other. Unfortunately, it seemed he still hadn't learned how to give warnings.

Hearing a sound like rushing wind, he turned to witness Voldemort's spirit rising free of Quirrell's body. Oh, he'd actually forgotten about him, too wrapped up in enjoying his small victory. He held up his hands as the darkness turned to him.

"I think we can both agree that was self-defence." But it was no good, and before he knew it he passed out, his soft smile facing Quirrell's frozen look of horror.

* * *

"I can't believe you got away with it again!" Neville said as he helped himself to trifle from his seat at the Slytherin table.

"Again?" Heri asked honestly, "I don't think I've ever killed a professor before." He was pretty sure he'd remember if he had.

"That's not what he meant." Draco defended.

"There was nothing to get away with!" Hermione stated with an amused smile. Everyone agreed she was a lot nicer to be around once exams were finished. "It was proven that a teacher attacked Herido with dark magic, what else could he do?"

While they settled into a discussion about all the wicked things Heri could have done, the twins joined them.

"All done." They happily declared with grins that screamed trouble.

"What have you idiots been up to now?" Ron asked, only half caring.

"Don't be so mean, little brother…"

"We were merely doing a favour for a friend." They smiled at Heri and Daphne groaned, but leaned in with everyone else to hear what they'd been up to.

Dumbledore had made it impossible for Herido to get anywhere near Hagrid without exposing himself outright, so he'd drafted in some help. Among the goodies uncle Fester had gifted the twins was enough Devil's Breath to last them the year. Heri wasn't sure exactly how they'd used the rest of it, but they had just enough left to help him. The powder, once blown into someone's face, makes them highly suggestable, meaning you can persuade them to do just about anything, after which they don't remember a thing. Fester had given it to the twins so they could distance themselves from any pranks that could get them into serious trouble, but Herido needed it to gain access to the half-giant. Apparently the twins had used the Head Girl to delivery Heri's gift – nobody would suspect her.

The evening proceeded peacefully for a while. Slytherin had won both the House and Quidditch Cups and everyone was even more scared of Herido than they'd been before. He just hoped they all calmed down over the summer, or next year wasn't going to be any fun at all.

Heri was starting to worry their plan had failed when a scream lit up the Great Hall. The commotion that followed drew everyone's attention to the Head Table, were Hagrid was pawing at his face and the smooth skin where his mouth should have been. Heri smirked. He would have preferred the personal touch, but he supposed this was a good enough example of what happens to people who can't keep their mouths shut. He'd used a curse he'd been given as a birthday gift years ago and had no idea how to undo it. He hoped it would take Dumbledore a long time to figure out what to do and wondered how wizards took nutrients when they were nil-by-mouth.

"You can be really scary sometimes." Blaise said at the look of glee on Herido's face.

"The beast is lucky to be alive!" Draco scoffed.

After enjoying the man's distress, Heri watched his friends discuss their plans for summer. He supposed being away at school had been fun after all, and could only hope something would turn up to try and kill him next year as well.

* * *

 **So that's it for part two! I hope you enjoyed.**

 **Thank you to everyone for reading, following, favoriting and reviewing, and I hope you'll stick with me for part three. xxxx**


	17. Author Note

**Author's Note**

 **For all those who haven't seen it: The next instalment of my Herido Addams story is now up!**

 **Herido Addams and the Chamber of Secrets**

 **Thanks for following the story so far! xx**


End file.
